Council body okays increase in parking fee

CEBU, Philippines - The Traffic Management Committee of the Cebu City Council recommended for the approval of the proposal increasing fees for vehicles parked along city roads.

But Councilor Noel Wenceslao suggested that the City Traffic and Transportation Office should study the traffic flow and security in these parking areas.

Wenceslao assumed the chairmanship of the traffic management committee, which is reviewing the proposal, because the committee chairman, Councilor Ritchie Osmeña, was one of those who suggested the proposal.

The committee report also urged the City Transportation and Traffic Office (CITOM) to secure vehicles parked along the roads. According to Wenceslao, the proposal of Osmeña and Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. to increase the parking fees is within the power of the council.

The proposal, he said, is not only for the CITOM to earn more but to discourage motorists from parking their vehicles along the road for a longer period of time.

However, Councilor Sisinio Andales said if the proposal is intended to discourage motorists from parking their vehicles along the roads for longer period, the parking fee should be at P30 per hour.

While the proposal requires a public hearing, Wenceslao’s committee report did not mention it.

Last year, CITOM’s parking fee collections reached P33.2 million. —(FREEMAN)