No more speeding on Macapagal Avenue

In a bid to prevent accidents on Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City, a 60-kilometer-per-hour speed limit will be imposed on the busy thoroughfare starting Tuesday, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The speed limit—similar to the one implemented on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City earlier this year—will apply to all public and private vehicles, including motorcycles.

According to MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, the eight-lane Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, which is 35 meters wide and five kilometers long, has often been used for illegal drag racing.

Tolentino added that reckless driving had likewise led to several accidents in the area.

“The emerging location for shopping centers and other establishments [on] Macapagal Avenue also multiplies the volume of vehicles that traverse… the said thoroughfare, which results [in] the high rate of road accidents and tragic loss of lives, limbs and property, especially during nighttime when it is also being used by drag racers,” he added.

Violators will be fined P2,000, MMDA assistant general manager Tina Velasco said.

In January, the MMDA imposed a 60-kph speed limit on Commonwealth Avenue to help prevent accidents on the thoroughfare, which has been dubbed the “killer highway.”

Aside from the speed limit, the agency started a crackdown on jaywalkers.