TRAVEL websites, hotels and restaurants have ranked Cebu as a top tourist destination in Asia several times.
Having been included in the roster of top destinations, such as Bali in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said it is important to give visitors a “good” first impression of the province.
In order to achieve this, the governor said there is a need to improve the traffic management scheme and decongest vehicular traffic on roads surrounding the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, which connects the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
Heavy traffic, Garcia said, gives a “bad impression” to tourists. What would come to the visitors’ minds after arriving at the airport in Lapu-Lapu City, she said, is this: they have to endure the snail-pace vehicular flow, crossing the bridge for 45 minutes or an hour before reaching their destinations.
The traffic from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) towards the second bridge and vice versa should have been made “free-flowing,” said Garcia.
The distance between the MCIA and the Marcelo Fernan Bridge is approximately 7.1 kilometers. On normal traffic, it takes a motorist less than 20 minutes to cross the bridge.
Garcia, who is also the Mactan-Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB) chairperson, said addressing the traffic problem to and from the MCIA was one of the top concerns that were discussed during the MCBMB meeting last July 31, 2019.
Rerouting vehicular flow, especially at the intersection on U.N. Ave. in Mandaue City, was one of Garcia’s suggestions to the board. Part of her proposal is to let motorists traveling to northern Cebu via the Cansaga Bridge take the U-turn slot under the Marcelo Fernan Bridge.
In this way, Garcia said, when motorists return to the main thoroughfare, they can just turn right to the Cansaga Bridge, instead of crossing the intersection that may create a traffic bottleneck.
Taking the U-turn slot under the second bridge is a scheme that has been followed by drivers of public utility jeepneys heading north via the Jagobiao-Consolacion route.Buses and other northbound vehicles coming from the Cebu North Bus Terminal also take the U-turn slot instead of taking a left turn toward Pacific Mall to avoid congestion.
“The immediate solution seen by the Mandaue City Government will be, first of all, extending the traffic-light (time) settings... For those coming from Mandaue City and going to Cansaga, we’ll have to insist that they make a U-turn under the second bridge,” Garcia said.
Garcia said another option being considered by the Mandaue City Goverment is to open an alternative route that motorists coming from Pacific Mall can use to avoid adding up to the volume of vehicles bound for Lapu-Lapu City.
The Department of Public Works and Highways has assured the MCBMB that it will look for options, while the Mandaue City Government will try to ask a private lot owner to open his property to traffic, especially for big vehicles like trailers.
The main goal of decongesting U.N. Ave. is to keep vehicles from getting stuck at the second bridge, said Garcia.
Aside from improving the traffic flow, the MCBMB has planned to upgrade its security cameras for monitoring, especially with the recent cases of suicide attempts at the Marcelo Fernan Bridge.
The MCBMB, which is tasked to maintain the two bridges connecting the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, has around P17.7 million in funds available. (RTF)