Tuesday, November 28, 2006 Traffic dry run ‘not very clear’
WITH the dry run for the Asean summit only two days away, a Cebu City councilor is asking organizers to come up with a concrete rerouting plan to lessen the inconvenience to the public.
Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said all he has right now is a traffic rerouting scheme applicable to public utility jeepneys (PUJs) only.
He told Sun.Star Cebu last night that what he wants to see is a detailed plan on how the City Traffic Operations Management intends to divert traffic on Dec. 11 to 14 when the ceremonial route will be closed for the delegates’ convoy.
“The public wants to know more than what roads are closed. They want to know where to go, what time the roads will be closed. These are questions that haven’t been answered yet,” he said in a phone interview.
Jakosalem, chairman of City Council’s committee on energy, transportation communication, and other utilities, said he will again raise the matter during the Citom meeting tomorrow.
He noted that the plan for the dry run this Friday was made before Malacañang amended the holiday proclamation, so it did not consider that there will be work in private offices during the summit.
Dec. 1 is a holiday, as Malacañang moved the commemoration of Bonifacio Day a day later.
But Chief Insp. Jonathan Abella, head of the Asean Task Force Group for route security and traffic control, said there will be no changes to the rerouting plan released weeks ago and that the plan is not only for PUJs but for other vehicles as well.
As to the time the ceremonial route will closed, the Police Regional Office will rely on the advisory from the Presidential Security Group and the liaison officers of the summit delegates.
The ceremonial route covers the road from Shangri-la’s Mactan Island Resort in Lapu-Lapu City to the Cebu International Convention Center, and the streets leading to the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Marco Polo Hotel in Nivel Hills, Cebu City.
The impact of the rerouting could be worse because the whole stretch of Osmeña Blvd. will also be closed to traffic this Friday, when the committee for the spouses of the Asean delegates will have its dry run too.
The tour of Cebu City starts at the Family Park in Barangay Talamban and then to the Provincial Capitol, Fuente Osmeña, Colon street and Magellan’s Cross in the downtown area.
Cebu City first lady Margot Osmeña said in an interview over radio dyLA yesterday afternoon that the tour aims to show the spouses the different influences on Cebuano culture.
The Capitol will be spruced up to depict the American era, when the structure was built. Fuente Osmeña will show families having picnics at the park. While en route to Colon street, festival dances will be performed by different contingents.
Osmeña said this will present Cebu as a “festival island.”
The junction in front of Metro Gaisano will be transformed into a mini-Chinatown, where a lion dance will be performed.
The tour will go on to Magellan’s Cross, Cebu’s most popular landmark.
Osmeña said that the dry run will by done by noon.
Today, the Bureau of Customs Sub-Port of Mactan will hold a dry run at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport arrival area to test its readiness for the summit.
Sub-Port Collector Ernesto Urbano said the exercise will determine how fast customs personnel can inspect baggage.
Meanwhile, if a fire breaks out anywhere in Metro Cebu during the summit, an alternate route is ready for the heads of state.
With routes leading to venues and billeting areas closed to the public, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7 Director Victoriano Remedio said fire alarms will still be prioritized during the summit.
“We cannot just set aside a fire because of the summit,” he told reporters.
The BFP has also sent augmentation teams to Cebu. Each venue and billeting area has a fire truck on standby.
But Remedio said each station will keep one truck in case any alarm not related to the summit is raised.
The Special Rescue Unit from the BFP 7 and other firefighting teams from the Eastern and Western Visayas offices will be part of the summit team. (RCT/AAG/EOB/MEA)
