|
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Travel is educational
By Roy C. Gaane
LOS Angeles, California -- About two years ago, I received an e-mail from Councilman Benjo Benaldo informing me that he was bound for Los Angeles. He requested if it would be possible to meet with Kagayanons in the area. I replied in the affirmative.
When the youthful Councilor flew into Los Angeles, I had already arranged with some of our brilliant minds to have a meeting with Benaldo.
The meeting took place in our home. Present were Pol Ramiro, Tex Luminarias, and Richard Tompkins, President of Kagay-anon International of Southern California. All three are executive engineers and technocrats in their own rights. Tex was still working then.
Councilor Benaldo's purpose for the meeting was to elicit from us, converted Americans, ideas on how we envision what changes the City of Cagayan de Oro should have.
We definitely were not lacking in visions. I handed the Councilor four pages of my visions and Pol Ramiro brought out his summary of ideas in 2 pages and other lengthy ones would follow.
My inquiring mind was asking if Councilor Benaldo was serious in gathering our suggestions. Was the meeting requested as one of his justifications for his trip to Los Angeles? After the meeting, I concluded to myself that he meant well.
In that four-page paper that I handed to Councilor Benaldo, one of the suggestions made was the relocation of City Central School, the provincial high school, the capitol and the provincial hospital elsewhere.
I was a pupil of City Central School in the primary grades. Going to school then was only a few blocks away. Only the exotic tartanilla made the traffic.
In those days, there was no street behind the entire blocks from City Central School all the way to the Provincial Hospital.
There were only coconut groves and swamp behind the hospital. These public institutions were then at the edge of the city. Their locations were then ideal.
Today, with a population of nearly a million and may be more on weekends when people from the surrounding towns and provinces come to shop, the schools with thousands of students are right in the middle of the city.
Children being children cross the streets at will while undisciplined jeepney drivers compete for passengers.
With the safety of pupils and students in mind, if the schools, capitol and hospital are relocated, it will also help ease the traffic.
These public institutions are now out of place. They should no longer be where they are.
With a growing population, Cagayan de Oro needs more parks or a much bigger park.
Gaston Park has shrunk. MacArthur Park had always been small. It can be expanded from the hospital all the way to Yacapin street.
If there is a will, all the way to Corrales Avenue but it involves private properties and can be a thorny project.
Of course, there is the problem of ownership of these government real estates but that can be worked out. It may be difficult but it can be done.
In California, we have what is called school districts. These districts are under one superintendent working in a central office. The schools are distributed in different areas.
Each school has a principal. In Cagayan de Oro, relocating the schools in one area is close to impossible. Like in California, they can be broken into several smaller satellite schools along the edges of the city. Doing it will be a Herculean job because it will involve the City, Provincial, National Governments, and the Department of Education.
It will take great diplomacy and strong leadership to accomplish this.
The MacArthur Park from the hospital all the way to the Yacapin Street can house a museum, a library and a newer sports center.
The bandstand, amphitheatre, and night cafe‚ can be relocated in the expanded park. Plaza Divisoria will be converted into a real plaza like Las Ramblas of Barcelona, Spain. Plaza Divisoria, by the way, is a Spanish legacy.
It was created during the Spanish times as a town fire breaker. Incidentally, our city and provincial officials should be allowed to travel in industrialized cities to observe and learn.
Even barangay leaders should travel especially to the U.S. to learn how people observe cleanliness, work habits, courtesy, discipline, the physical layout of cities and adopt what is best for their hometown.
Travel is educational. (For questions, comments, complaints and suggestions please e-mail this writer at rggaane@earthlink.net)
(August 13, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
|
