AFTER the successful demolition of the two skywalks along Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has announced plans to remove all remaining skywalks within the city’s jurisdiction, one by one.
Over Cebu City Hall’s online program “Ingna’ng Mayor” on Thursday, March 14, 2024, Rama said skywalks do not serve their purpose.
Rama said skywalks became an interim drop-in center for some mendicants.
He said skywalks also became public comfort rooms, living rooms, and living quarters.
Rama said the skywalk in Day-as has one end connected to a sidewalk. In Banilad, one side of the skywalk ends on a sidewalk, while the other end leads to a jeepney parking lot. Additionally, some skywalks have one end connected to a sidewalk and the other end leading to establishments.
He also noted that the skywalk in Escario is obstructing the sidewalk.
He said skywalks should not obstruct the sidewalk or the roads.
He said as a result of these issues, people no longer use the skywalks.
He explained that skywalks would only be effective if equipped with elevators and escalators, but he also emphasized that the city no longer requires such structures.
During the program, SunStar Cebu asked Rama what would replace the skywalks, particularly for the benefit of students.
He suggested that tunnels or underground pedestrian crossings would be more effective, allowing people to cross streets underground, similar to practices observed worldwide.
He said there are no skywalks in Melbourne, Australia and other countries.
He said when he was in Boston, he was told to expose the sky, not create obstructions, deeming skywalks as obstructions.
He said underground crossing pedestrians exist in Quiapo.
In a follow-up phone interview on Thursday, Rama said that all skywalks have not served their purpose, considering why they were constructed and why the Office of the Building Officials (OBO) allowed them during those times.
Asked regarding the target completion of the removal of all skywalks, Rama said not to worry much about it, saying they have already removed at least two along Osmeña Boulevard.
Rama said he will be meeting OBO, the city engineering office, City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) to discuss the matter.
The two skywalks along Osmeña Boulevard, one standing near Fuente Osmeña Circle and the other Cebu Normal University, were successfully removed last February 18 and February 25, 2024, respectively.
The main slabs of the two skywalks were stored in the city’s engineering office junkyard in the South Road Properties, awaiting evaluation to determine their viability and structural integrity for potential repurposing. (AML)