THE Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) cannot implement a permanent route that will allow passenger vehicles to pass by the Mandaue City Public Market, which was damaged by the earthquake last year, until a new public market will be built in Barangay Centro.
During a special session yesterday, the City Council approved a resolution extending for 60 days the temporary route for tricycles, which was implemented by Team after the earthquake last Oct. 15.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Elstone Dabon, head of the committee on transportation, covers the request of Edwin Ermac, operation chief of Team to extend the temporary routes.
Ermac wrote Dabon last April 28 to inform him that the rerouting scheme has already expired.
The public market building, which is located behind the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex, was declared structurally unsafe after it was damaged by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake.
Ermac told reporters that the Team cannot ask that an ordinance be passed to make the rerouting scheme permanent because the existing building is no longer safe for occupancy.
3-story market
The Mandaue City Government is planning to build a three-story public market in a 9,000-square meter lot in Barangay Centro, where the old market was previously located.
Architect Maxwell Espina had said that the City will need some P250 million to P300 million to build a new public market.
Ermac said once the Team will know the exact location of the new market, they can then request the City Council to pass an ordinance for the permanent routes.
In the current route, tricycles from S.B. Cabahug St. will go to the public market straight to Burgos St.
But because there is an ongoing road-concreting project, Ermac said they have to ask tricycles to turn left to Avancea St., then turn left to Burgos, without going to the public market.
The scheme, though, goes against the vendors who complained that their sales have started to drop.