THE Cagayan de Oro City Council urged Mayor Oscar Moreno on July 10 to convene the Traffic Management Board (TMB) to address the "terrible traffic mess" in our midst.
In his special report, Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr. said during a heavy downpour last week, he observed that many people were stranded, and that traversing particularly Corrales Avenue could get you stuck of up to one hour.
"The city is indeed booming in terms of population and economic growth but while we are happy with this, we also see the demand for mass transportation as time goes by, it really needs focused discussion," he said.
Lao, the chairman of the committee on public utilities, said it is time to convene the TMB to discuss and possibly come up with concrete solutions.
He said while he still has faith on the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA), Lao told his fellow legislators that they should not depend so much on the RTA, citing the need for other experts.
Lao said he was saddened that the TMB could once again require the RTA to submit its comprehensive traffic management plan, which it failed to submit during the budget hearing last year.
The traffic management plan, he said, should be the legislators' guide in crafting traffic-related policies.
"In other big cities, they have the board to be the policy-making body and look into problem how the traffic management become effective so this is why we are requesting the mayor to immediately convene TMB and see if there is lack of public utility jeepneys, or just that we need to really manage traffic well," he said.
Ordinance 10551-2007 created the TMB with 15 members: seven members selected by the mayor, and eight ex-officio members.