TRAFFIC in Cebu City continued to be manageable despite the closure of Pope John Paul II Ave. for the second day of the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) yesterday.
The Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO), though, is asking establishments along the avenue and nearby areas like the Cebu Business Park and IT Park to adopt a flexible time for their employees. That way, they won’t congest the area while IEC activities are ongoing.
Pope John Paul III Ave. is where the IEC Pavilion is located, which is the main venue for IEC events that will run until Jan. 31.
Flexible schedule
In an interview yesterday, CCTO operations division chief Joy Tumulak said some national agencies in the city have already adopted a flexible time for their employees.
They’ve allowed employees to report to work at 6 a.m., 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. and leave at 3 p.m., 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.
“They won’t be productive if they all report to work at the same time and get in late because of the traffic. It will also affect them if they get home late, also because of the traffic,” Tumulak said in Cebuano.
The CCTO is closing Pope John Paul II Ave. from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. to give way to the estimated 100 buses that ferry IEC delegates from the pavilion to different parts of Cebu City, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City.
On the move
As to the traffic in the area yesterday that included the Banilad-Talamban Corridor to the Cebu Business Park and the Mabolo vicinity, Tumulak said it was manageable since it was moving.
“There were a lot of vehicles on the road, but traffic was moving, albeit slowly. The important thing was traffic did not stall,” he said in Cebuano.
Atty. Rey Gealon, CCTO executive director, said it has helped that some schools have suspended classes for the duration of the IEC.
“It made a difference as adequate number of school buses, coasters and private vehicles were out of the roads,” he said.
CCTO, meanwhile, is asking motorists to make sure their vehicles are in running condition so these won’t break down and stall traffic.
Tumulak said they will continue to monitor traffic on roads surrounding the pavilion until the end of the event.