THE Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) wants malls to coordinate with the City Government whenever they hold holiday sales.
Glenn Antigua, Team’s chief for operations, lamented the 12-hour traffic experienced in the city when a mall on United Nations (UN) Ave. held a whole- day sale last Saturday.
Antigua said the mall activity was not coordinated with them.
He said he received several text messages and calls from the riding public as early as 7 a.m. complaining about the traffic congestion on UN Ave. and on M.C. Briones St.
The Command Center also received phone calls from commuters, who shared the same sentiments.
“The vehicular traffic around the mall is easy to control. The mall management only needs to coordinate with us. Coordination is really important,” said Antigua.
He is asking the Traffic Management Board (TMB) to pass a resolution, or for the City Council or Mayor Luigi Quisumbing to issue an executive order, asking the management of the malls to inform the Team if they will hold holiday sales.
Antigua plans to raise the matter during the TMB meeting today.
Cutting trips
Last Saturday, tricycles took advantage of the heavy traffic.
Tricycles that are bound to Barangay Paknaan are cutting trips.
They only drop their passengers on the corner of D.M. Cortes St., particularly on Tulay grounds, so they can immediately get another passenger.
Antigua said tricycles with blue paints are supposed to ply from Centro to Paknaan and Labogon, and vice versa.
“If the tricycle drivers decline to take passengers to their destination, the passenger can get the body number of the vehicle and report it to the Command Center or through the Facebook page of Team,” Antigua said in Cebuano.
Team, he said, will then issue a citation ticket to the erring drivers in line with the city’s no contact apprehension policy.
In a related development, Team is planning to use the government-owned lot in Barangay Ibabao-Estancia as a stop, loading and drop-off point for buses and jeepneys bound for Lapu-Lapu and the airport.
Antigua said this was suggested by Quisumbing in preparation for the Christmas rush.