EXPECT traffic in Cagayan de Oro City to be back to normal today, June 1, and that is bumper-to-bumper, as schools open for the new school year.
But Hapsay Dalan chief lawyer Jose Edgardo Uy said there will be no rerouting for public and private vehicles despite the anticipated heavier pedestrian and vehicle traffic, especially near schools and universities.
Instead, Uy said the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) will increase the number of traffic enforcers along roads near schools with substantial student populations.
Uy said he has directed traffic enforcers to ensure the smooth flow of vehicular traffic, as well as guide pedestrians in crossing roads at designated pedestrian crossings.
Traffic is expected to be heavy at C.M. Recto Avenue in front of the Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST). A portion of the national highway has been closed to traffic as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Davao had started construction of the Bitan-ag Bridge last month.
The RTA has prohibited all six-wheeler trucks from passing through the Recto-Osmeña highway and instead has directed them to utilize the coastal road passing through the Puntod-Kauswagan bridge. The re-routing of trucks start at Valenzuela Road, to and from Agora Market, and Osmeña Extension going to and from the Recto-Gaabucayan road.
Meanwhile, the Cagayan de Oro Police Office (Cocpo) has said it will be continuing with their Oplan “Ligtas Balik Skwela.”
Police Superintendent Henry Cay-as, Cocpo community relations chief, said Cocpo personnel from different police stations together with special units will be deployed at the vicinity of all private and public schools beginning June 1.
According to Cay-as, policemen assigned near schools have been directed to be at their posts from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“We also sent [a] memo to all station commanders and chief of special units that those personnel assigned in schools shall not only render police visibility but [also] help children (especially those with no parents/guardian with them) in crossing the streets and man the traffic,” Cay-as said.
Cay-as said Cocpo will distribute school supplies and slippers to 400 pupils of FS Catanico and Balubal Elementary Schools today in partnership with Cagayan de Oro College Criminology Alumni Association. (Lynyrd Aleksei N. Corrales)