DISMAYED by the non-attendance of Department of Public Works and Highways 7 Director Edgar Tabacon in its meeting, the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB) has taken traffic matters into its own hands.
The MCDCB on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, passed a resolution assigning mayors in Metro Cebu to coordinate with their respective local planning and engineering offices to come up with “doable” traffic solutions.
The local traffic management teams from Danao City in the north and Carcar City in the south, were also tasked to come up with specific solutions for vehicular congestion in their respective intersections.
As a member of the MCDCB, Tabacon was supposed to present a report on the proposed construction of U-turn slots and roundabouts as a viable solution to bottleneck traffic in busy intersections.
But because he had to reportedly grace the invitation of a congressman from the south, Tabacon had sent DPWH 7 planning design assistant division chief Danilo Pasicaran to attend on his behalf.
Pasicaran, though, failed to present a visual report on the matter and instead verbally told members of the board that the construction of roundabouts would need a large area and entail problems on road-right-of-way acquisition, among others.
This provoked the ire of several members, including Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who sits as chairperson of the MCDCB.
“We don’t need to build a Fuente Osmeña Circle, our only roundabout (a circular intersection) at the moment. It doesn’t have to be as large as Fuente Osmeña, for as long as it will allow the free flow of vehicles. Haven’t you noticed in Europe? Traffic lights seemed to have gone out of business because of roundabouts. Why can’t we do that here? We don’t need to build a flyover or tunnel,” Garcia said.
Talisay City Mayor Gerard Anthony Gullas Jr., for his part, said while the mayors are doing their part, they would still need the help of the National Government for a long-term solution to traffic such as road widening and building new thoroughfares, among others.
Created in 2011, the MCDCB is a coordinating body for metro-wide planning and development. (RTF)