Thursday, May 01, 2008 Capitol criticizes Jack’s plan to ban South mini-buses
A CAPITOL consultant yesterday criticized Cebu City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem for proposing the prohibition of all mini-buses from the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT).
Lawyer Rory Jon Sepulveda, Cebu Province consultant on information and revenue generation, said the move will not solve worsening traffic along N. Bacalso Avenue.
Although the Capitol respects the City Government’s initiative to decongest its roads, Sepulveda said “limiting access to the bus terminal is not the solution, if traffic is really the concern.”
“The solution would be the implementation of basic traffic rules and laws,” he said.
Complaints
Jakosalem, meanwhile, said he sought to prohibit mini buses from loading and unloading passengers at the CSBT to address traffic problems in the area and not attack the Provincial Government.
Jakosalem said yesterday that the ordinance was proposed because the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) board recommended it after getting numerous complaints from bus operators and commuters.
Blocked
He said major bus operators complained that they have difficulty going in and out of the terminal because of the mini-buses that either park inside or block the entrance and exit points of the facility.
“I don’t intend to hit anybody here. Anyway, this is still a proposal and it will still go through a long process. It can be approved or not,” the councilor told reporters yesterday.
Capitol officials reportedly took the ordinance as another offensive from City Hall officials.
But if the City Council finds the ordinance favorable, Jakosalem said that he will not move for its final approval until there is a terminal dedicated to the mini buses so that their operators and passengers would not be inconvenienced.
When asked if the City Government is allowed to regulate the use of a terminal owned and operated by the Provincial Government, he answered yes. He said it was the City that required all bus operators to use only the terminal in the south through an ordinance it passed in 1999.
The amendatory ordinance was proposed to the council yesterday and was referred to the committee on laws, committee on traffic management and the committee on transportation, through its vice chairman.
Sepulveda said the City Government should instead impose basic traffic rules, like regulating sidewalk vending and implement zones such as “No Parking” and “No Loading.”
The Capitol, he said, has already imposed rules aimed at improving the flow of commuters inside the terminal.
Justification
“Enforcement of the existing traffic rules will resolve the (problem),” Sepulveda said.
He, however, said that if these would still not work, then that is the time for the City to start thinking of limiting access to the CSBT.
Sepulveda lamented that traffic problem was the same justification the City Government used in blocking the Capitol’s Ciudad project in Barangay Banilad last year.
Ciudad is being planned on a 2.8-hectare Provincial Government lot along Gov. Cuenco Ave. It is a mixed-use development project that will include a mall and several condominiums.
“All actions must be done in good faith…. We are all here to serve one master—the public,” Sepulveda said.
He, however, said the Cebu Province is amenable to relocating the CSBT as long as it is “reasonable.”
He suggested that before coming up with a proposal, the City should first conduct a “professional study” that must be supported by data from traffic authorities. (GMD/LCR)
