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Friday, January 25, 2008
City dad to push for postponement of flyover work
By Linette C. Ramos
With Oscar C. Pineda
CEBU CITY -- Since detours have not been finalized yet and alternative roads still have to be fixed, Cebu City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem will recommend postponing work on the Banilad flyover.
Jakosalem said the traffic congestion during the construction of the Banilad flyover will still not be addressed if the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 does not fix the roads identified as alternative routes.
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Mayor Tomas Osmeña, meanwhile, said he is not too optimistic that the odd-even scheme will decongest the Banilad area. He said most of its residents can afford to have two cars with odd and even plates.
There is no guarantee that implementing the odd-even scheme will cut traffic, he said.
"I really don't feel comfortable about this kay mauwaw ta sa mga tawo. Only the rich will benefit from the odd-even scheme because they have several cars and they have odd and even plates. That's the defect of the scheme, but I guess it's better than nothing," he told reporters Thursday.
For the mayor, banning private vehicles during rush hour is still the better option to ease traffic when two lanes of the Gov. Cuenco Ave. will be closed during the construction period.
Hearing
Osmeña will meet the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) board Friday to discuss the traffic plan for the duration of the construction of the flyover.
On Monday afternoon, the Cebu City council will also hold a special session and public hearing to give northern barangay officials, residents, motorists, school directors and business owners a chance to express their concerns about the project.
Unless Osmeña decides to block the implementation of the odd-even scheme or call for the postponement of the construction of the Banilad flyover, the trial period for the traffic scheme will start this Monday.
The flyover construction is set to begin next Friday.
In a phone interview Thursday, Jakosalem said that DPWH should have fixed all the roads on the alternative routes. The agency promised to do this when the construction was put off last October, he added.
"The construction was moved from October to February to give DPWH time to fix the roads and for Citom to map out alternative routes. Up to today, the roads have not been fixed. It will be very inconvenient to use the alternative routes if there are still potholes because traffic will move very slowly," he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Fix it first
Jakosalem, who lives in the area where the flyover will be constructed, said it is only fair that DPWH fixes the roads before the construction so motorists will have alternative routes that are completely passable.
The roads that need to be rehabilitated are Floremer Street, P. Remedio Street, Hernan Cortes Street, all in Mandaue City, and J. Panis Street in Cebu City.
"Since the roads are still not fixed, I will recommend to DPWH to postpone the construction of the flyover until the roads are repaired. I think it's just fair that they fix it, otherwise they would not be doing their duty," the councilor said.
Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) Executive Director Arnel Tancinco also said they will not start with the implementation of the odd-even scheme until they can put up all the signs warning motorists of the new traffic scheme.
"We are still waiting for the contractor to deliver the signage but if they cannot produce it before the trial period, then we will not proceed with the implementation of the odd-even scheme," he said.
2 cities
The signs will be put up along the Banilad road, the alternative routes and all roads leading to the construction site.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said they will allow some of their roads to be used as alternative routes during the rerouting.
Cortes said there have been initial meetings between traffic officials from both cities on the use of their roads. Traffic personnel from both cities will be jointly fielded in these areas.
Cortes said Cebu City will help maintain some of their roads during the rerouting.
The Mandaue City barangays that will be affected by the rerouting are Subangdaku, Cabancalan and Banilad. He said the long stretches on A.S. Fortuna Street, Hernan Cortes Ave., and M.L. Quezon Street in Barangay Maguikay are potential traffic chokepoints. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (January 25, 2008 issue)
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