HPG, MMDA brace for Christmas rush by clearing Metro Manila roads

Traffic jam in Edsa. RICHARD A. REYES/FILE PHOTO

Traffic management agencies will start clearing some roads in Metro Manila to prepare for the expected heavy traffic during the Christmas rush, Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras said on Friday.

Almendras, who was tasked by President Benigno Aquino III to lead and oversee government actions to improve traffic flow on Edsa, said the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) of the Philippine National Police and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will make some announcements regarding their preparation for the Christmas rush.

“We’re worried about the Christmas rush,” Almendras said in an interview after attending a budget hearing at the Senate.

He said the HPG and the MMDA were just finalizing the legal basis for certain actions, “because we’re gonna have to start clearing some roads not just along Edsa to make sure that we can handle the additional flow…”

“We’re going to clear some roads to make sure na pwedeng daanan (that it can be passed through),” Almendras said.

READ: MMDA creates 17 Mabuhay lanes; routes specified

“Maybe we’ll start with the Mabuhay lanes. What we need to do is ensure these lanes are clear and can be used. The way they are now, parada both sides of the roads, so hindi na ganyan (The way they are now, parking on both sides of the roads, so that won’t be the case),” he further said.

Also by the first week of November, Almendras said, lane separators will be installed between the bus lanes and non-bus lanes.

READ: DPWH latest plan for discussion: Carpools to decongest Edsa

Although he said everybody was saying that Edsa “is moving better now” with the deployment of HPG, he said the proposed carpooling remained an option.

“We’re approaching the problem from a perspective [that] we will provide the alternatives so that people don’t need to drive their cars. If they don’t drive their cars, then it’s better,” he said.

“[Well] carpooling is one option but if I can get 20 people who drive their cars alone to ride a bus, that’s better than carpooling…” he added.