Gorordo businessmen oppose flyover

CEBU, Philippines - Owners of business establishments along Gorordo Avenue appealed to the Cebu City Council to listen to their sentiments in their campaign against the construction of a flyover in the area.

Joel Lee, who represents a group of Gorordo Avenue stakeholders and concerned citizens, earlier published an open letter to President Benigno Aquino III to voice their opposition to the project.

The planned flyover, initiated by north district Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar, will be constructed at the intersection of Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenue to ease traffic congestion in the area, particularly during peak hours.

Del Mar also sent a message to Aquino asking him to help speed up the project’s completion.

Mayor Michael Rama had wanted the road be widened first rather than pushing for the need to construct the flyover.

Aside from Gorordo Avenue, another flyover project has been planned at the corner of General Maxilom Avenue and MJ Cuenco Avenue.

Rama also wrote a letter to Aquino asking him to delay the construction of the flyover projects, saying that the roads should be widened first to avoid serious traffic congestions in the future.

According to Lee, the flyover’s construction along Gorordo Avenue only aggravates the traffic problem in the area “as evidenced by the flyovers already in place in strategic places in the city.”

“It may ease the problem for sometime, but we think, not for more than three years, however over the long term these will be rendered useless,” Lee said.

He supported Rama’s statement that building flyovers in the city’s central areas will significantly “erode the value and remaining elegance of our heritage.”

“In fact, there are cities that are now demolishing their flyovers, why should we still insist on building flyovers?” Le asked.

Nuns at the Asilo dela Medalla Milagrosa and Perpetual Succour Hospital are not against the construction of the flyover, but they fear that it might affect their operations. — /LPM (FREEMAN)