NOPE, it’s not the white Christmas I used to know, where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow.
For one thing, we don’t have snow in the Philippines, and certainly no sleigh bells.
But it’s no longer the Bacolod Christmas traffic I used to know, with its light traffic even during the frenetic last minute shopping.
Now the bumper-to-bumper gridlock is getting horrendous. Think MassKara. Think Christmas shopping. And the traffic is getting worse.
I can understand Metro Manila when vehicles on the road spend as much time being stationary as running. Or perhaps Cebu. Et tu, Bacolod? Better believe it.
At least, the Bacolod City Council mandated the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office understand the situation. Now they have planned new traffic schemes at the downtown area and Lacson Street from December 16 until December 31, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
A one-way scheme will be implemented at Araneta Street from Rosario to Gonzaga Streets. Jeepneys from south of Bacolod such as Tangub, Airport, and Punta-Taytay should turn left at Gonzaga, left to San Juan, left to Rosario, right to Araneta, all the way to destination.
Bata-Libertad jeepneys passing along San Juan Street will not be allowed to turn left to San Sebastian. They will instead turn left to Rosario, right to Araneta, all the way to destination.
However, private vehicles traveling San Juan may pass through San Sebastian.
Of course, this is a band-aid solution. The truth is, the traffic is getting perceptibly thick, Christmas season and beyond. What used to take me 30 minutes, now takes me 45.
The short-term solution is the rerouting of vehicles to secondary streets. The scheme worked in the past. Now the City of Smiles is running out of secondary streets. Far-fetch? Think about this.
Metro-Bacolod is the 8th-most populous and the 6th-most densely populated metropolitan area out of the 12 metropolitan areas in the country.
Five years, 10 years down the road the situation will not be the traffic we know now. My travel time might take me an hour to go to the Hall of Justice. What long-term solution will our current Sangguniang propose to do?
Or are their vision don’t extend beyond their noses? Or their terms of office?
*****
(bqsanc@yahoo.com)