Wednesday, September 05, 2007 Osmeña: Cebu’s urban problems By Antonio V. Osmeña Estatements
NOT all cities are pleasant places to live in and Metro Cebu cities are increasingly subjected to problems related to crowding, such as traffic snarls, housing shortages, high rents, lack of parking spaces and increased fares.
There are also problems related to congested and inefficient public transportation systems, loud music in public, crime, air and water pollution, and long lines at grocery stores, banks, movies and restaurants.
The major issue today is automobile and the decentralization of cities.
Before the automobile was invented, cities tended to be compact. By necessity, urban dwellers lived within easy walking distance to their jobs, stores where they shopped, and the schools that their children attended. Some stores and offices even had living quarters on the upper floors.
The introduction of the automobile and, particularly the lowering of the cost per vehicle thru mass production, has provided almost unlimited mobility, which has been a major factor in the urban sprawl that characterizes the highly decentralized cities in our country today. Because the automobile has allowed a mass exodus from the central city to the suburbs and surrounding areas, the lack of planning on road infrastructure leading to these areas has caused unexpected traffic congestions.
Former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) director Rogelio V. Osmena said traffic congestion in the Banilad-Talamban route could be minimized by applying basic traffic standards such as: providing strategic jeepney and bus stops; allocating adequate pedestrian lanes, especially near the University San Carlos Talamban Campus, where the school’s concrete fence could be set back five meters from the main road; installing additional culverts to widen Mahiga bridge; assigning full-time motorized Citom enforcers to apprehend stubborn and abusive drivers who often violate traffic rules; strictly implementing the “no parking” and “no stopping” rules.
Another area of concern is the failure of Citom to implement traffic rules on B. Rodriguez Street, particularly fronting the Vicente Sotto Memorial Hospital, where vendors encroach on the sidewalk and part of the street and parked vehicles (taxis and private cars) aggravate the situation.
The political will of Citom is needed to minimize traffic snarls. Critics are much concerned about the use of the street in practically all streets in the city as parking garage.
Overnight street parking in most residential subdivision has become a common occurrence. People want to own cars but do not have a square meter of space for their vehicles to park.
In Cebu, the cars have become the people. Obviously, cars squat (park) at the pleasure of the owner. The number of riders on all forms of mass transit (buses, jeepneys and taxis) is what the 95 percent of the inhabitants depend on as a mode of transportation.
But some analysts see the building of new fixed-rail rapid transit systems and improving existing systems as a key to urban transportation problems.
In spite of attempts to increase the use of mass transit and paratransit systems, the private automobile will likely remain as a means of transportation in widely dispersed urban center areas. Thus in recent years, increasing emphasis has been placed on reducing energy, wastes and pollution caused by automobiles.
There are proposals in reducing automobile use in cities. But most elected officials are unwilling to risk the wrath of commuters and voters by imposing such coercive measures. Let’s consider the case of Singapore and Hong Kong, where strict regulations on the use of private automobiles have eliminated traffic snarls in urban areas.
Note: In last week’s column, the desk inadvertently omitted this paragraph: “A new technology allows the extraction of freshwater from brackish water (which have 1,000 parts per million (ppm) to 4,000 ppm of dissolved solids), saltwater (having 4,000 ppm to 18,000 ppm) and seawater (having 18,000 ppm to 35,000 ppm of dissolved solids) through reverse osmosis.” —Editor
