TWO men in clothes, Monsignor Jun Mercado, parish priest of the Lord’s Transfiguration parish based in Barangay Sto. Domingo in Angeles City and Fr. Archie Tapang of Chevalier school located also in the same barangay are complaining up to high heavens against the traffic gridlock “courtesy” of the SM mall.
The newly opened mall is in Barangay Telabastagan in the City of San Fernando, an adjacent barangay and only a whispering distance to Chevalier.
The two priests must direct some queries to Mayor Edwin Santiago and the City Council as well as how in heaven’s name did the latter approve the construction and not prepare infrastructure projects like widening the road, come up with an alternate route or installed a flyover. Millions of reasons maybe? Wait till schools open next month.
Not only are the two priests pissed off in battling traffic, but common workers waiting long hours on the road, missing their appointments and getting irritated by undisciplined drivers who weave in and out and want to be ahead of everybody.
Traffic is a problem in Angeles City and many other urban towns in Pampanga. And comes this SM Mall Telabastagan. The Henry Sy family saw in Pampanga a gold mine.
Well in the good old days when I was still in my shorts, my trip from my hometown of Porac to Angeles City only took me few minutes, and got no more than ten vehicles that you will meet on the road.
Traveling to Manila was always extremely pleasant, with only two known bus companies plying the route, La Mallorca-Pambusco of the Enriquez and Philippine Rabbit of the Buan and Paras families. There were no tricycles yet competing on the two-lane MacArthur Highway. There was no need for a Traffic Enforcement Group. (BTW. Seldom we see the PNP Highway Patrol Group patrolling the highways. Why? No gasoline?) Paging General Oca Albayalde.
The many roads now in Pampanga, including Angeles City needed to be replaced, repaired and expanded. The cities of San Fernando, Angeles and Mabalacat and to include Porac, Sta. And Guagua have big volumes of vehicles passing through their roads. That's according to available statistics at the Land Transportation Office. The MacArthur highway stretch from the Mabalacat City boundary down to the downtown area of Angeles and making looping turn after the Holy Angel University is a traffic problem area, you may want to ask my friend Dan Concepcion, the traffic enforcer chief.
My friends and I on Monday meet at Ribeye Restaurant, a stone’s throw away from Marquee Mall and the City Hall that usually uses either the old Gueco road and is too narrow and vehicles are commonly parked on the side. And tricycles are always on the racing mood. But if you are a resident or visiting Magalang town you have to adjust your watch one hour ahead when traveling along the Magalang road. A bridge between barangays Pulong Cacutod and Sapa Libutad restrict vehicles.
With the sheer number of tricycle and bicycle riders now, I am suggesting that officials of the three cities, Mabalacat, Angeles and San Fernando should meet and thoroughly address and come up with a solution on how to accommodate the tens of thousands of bikers now using daily the highways and secondary roads. Officials shouldn't be reactive but pro-active, as they usually say. Don't wait for accidents to happen. Or shall I say accidents figuring bike riders are too common now.
By the way, motorists are complaining why those potholes just after the Holy Family Academy in Barangay Cutcut which is part of the Friendship Highway portion and those up to the Paning's area aren’t being attended to. Paging Engineer Tito Salvador of the DPWH unit based in Angeles City.