MMDA announces opening of new ‘Christmas lanes’

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has urged motorists to use the new “Christmas lanes” to help decongest traffic in major thoroughfares this holiday season.

“[We] are calling on our private motorists to use these alternate roads. This is for their own convenience,” MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said in a statement Tuesday.

Shopping areas

The new routes, which will be inaugurated by the agency on Wednesday, include side streets leading to Divisoria, Baclaran, Greenhills and Carriedo—areas frequented by shoppers looking for bargains.

These will be in addition to the Christmas lanes opened by the MMDA last year.

Tolentino said that traffic constables would be assigned to different areas to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. He added that directional signs had also been put up along the new routes to guide motorists.

Improved speed

Data from the MMDA traffic discipline office showed that when the agency inaugurated the Christmas lanes last year, the average speed of vehicles on EDSA improved to 32 kilometers per hour (kph) from 28 kph in 2009.

The Christmas lanes start at the north and south entry points of EDSA. Motorists heading south may use McArthur Highway, then turn on Samson Road, C-4/Letre, R-10, A. Bonifacio and Roxas Boulevard to their destination and vice versa.

For the full list of the new Christmas lanes, Tolentino advised the public to check the MMDA’s website at https://www.mmda.gov.ph.