COUNCILOR Edgar Avila, chair of the committee on urban planning, lands and housing, formally ended consultations on parking in the Burnham area.

Officially, there were four proposals presented to the city: Alexander Cruz, chairman of XRC Mall Developer Incorporated, submitted their P800 million multi-level mall-hotel-parking plan; RF Chan and associates green structure; University Of The Cordilleras master development plan; and the Baguio cultural center plan by architect Tito Valdivia.

On Tuesday morning, May 22, Mega Twist, Megabuild JPG Development and ADI Limited failed to present their proposals to a waiting audience.

Avila said the proposals will be reviewed by the technical working group composed of the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) and the Engineer’s office before these will be submitted to the committee for recommendation.

Positions of various groups were also heard. The Department of Tourism, in a statement, maintained that the park is considered a heritage park and should be left as an open space.

The Tourism department also stressed that a traffic plan must be created instead of a permanent parking infrastructure.

TIEZA lawyer Michelle Rivera said the city is urged to look for alternative sites for the parking structure as mandated by the heritage act and earlier recommended by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to maintain open spaces.

Traffic engineer Ted Tan, volunteer consultant to the city, said a parking facility is a bitter pill to swallow but is needed especially at Burnham, Wright and Mines View Park to decongest the highland resort.

University of China representative Ian Morley and UP Baguio College of economics Dr. Gonzales also presented with Burnham Stall owners at the old auditorium site headed by Eliseo Corson.