Thursday, December 14, 2006 New routes implemented starting December 15 By Grace L. Plata
THE Traffic Management and Control Board has approved four developmental routes, which will be implemented starting December 15, in a bid to address worsening traffic woes in Davao City.
Board secretary Alfredo Pontillo said the new routes approved by the traffic board during a meeting on December 7 are:
* extension of the Bo. Obrero route to Guerrero St.;
* extension of the Catalunan Grande route to Elenita Heights Phase 1;
* extension of El Rio subdivision route to Crocodile Park, and;
* Matina Pangi-Ulas route.
But Pontillo said the routes will only be implemented on a two-month experimental stage, ending on February 15, 2007.
Pontillo said it is necessary to make an actual test run in order to check the effectivity of the routes and whether it will address traffic decongestion in the city's major thoroughfares.
He said during the two-month test run, evaluation will be made by the traffic board and other implementing agencies to identify problems that will crop up on the test run period.
The board recommendations will be presented to the City Council for deliberation before the legislative body will enact an ordinance to make the new routes lawfully permanent.
Only existing franchise owners, operators, and drivers are allowed application to ply the new routes, Pontillo said.
Application is also free of charge, he added.
Pontillo also said the extension of Route 2 to SM City Davao is still under negotiations with SM management, but is soon to follow after the route plan is completed.
He added that a new developmental route, Panacan-Ulas via Diversion Road, is set to be discussed next week and will possibly be implemented by January 2007.
The first developmental route in the city, implemented November of this year, is the Lasang-Bunawan route.
