2 cities share traffic burden in new scheme

CEBU, Philippines - On the first day of a new traffic scheme’s implementation at the North Reclamation Area yesterday, Cebu City and Mandaue City both shared the “burden of traffic congestion.”

This was the assessment of Cebu City Traffic Operations Management executive director Rafael Yap.

Starting yesterday, Mandaue City-bound vehicles are to use S. Osmeña Boulevard while Cebu City-bound vehicles are to pass Logarta Street, where one-way traffic is being implemented.

Yap said bottlenecks were observed at the portion of Ouano Avenue near the Aboitiz Football Field since Cebu City-bound vehicles were asked to traverse that way.

The new traffic scheme was implemented after a meeting between Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Mandaue City Jonas Cortes on Tuesday night.

Cortes called for the meeting after reports of heavy traffic congestion in his city reportedly because of a rerouting scheme implemented at the NRA on account of the works being done on S. Osmeña Boulevard.

Yap said with yesterday’s new traffic scheme, the Cebu City side has also started to feel the congestion in the afternoon.

Prior to the implementation, traffic on this side used to be “manageable.”

Yap identified the areas in Cebu City that felt congestion yesterday, namely Logarta Street, Kaohsiung Street, Cabahug Street and A. Soriano Street.

“It’s okay (ang traffic congestion). Kasabot ta sa side sa Mandaue City and both cities  can share the burden,” he said.

He said adjustments, if any, will be made after the general assessment of the new traffic scheme is done.

In an interview, Rama said both cities agreed to the new traffic scheme during the meeting.

“It was reasonable and fair. Everybody was just doing their job,” he said, adding that all stakeholders need to have proper coordination to address the traffic concern.

“So why not give it a try? There is no harm anyway. Traffic is trial and error. All is well that ends well,” he said.

For his part, Cortes said he was happy with the outcome of the meeting as they have come up with a “win-win solution” to traffic congestion at the NRA.

During the meeting on Tuesday, Cortes said everyone present agreed to adopt Mandaue City’s proposal to use four lanes in going to Cebu City and another four lanes in going to Mandaue City.

Since there is no counter-flow, Cortes said what is being implemented is a “carousel style of traffic scheme.”

Cortes said he asked for the meeting because Mandaue is the gateway for all vehicles coming from the north, Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova town going to Cebu City and southern Cebu.

Yesterday, personnel from the Traffic Enforcement Agency in Mandaue and CITOM also manned boundaries of both cities.

TEAM director Edwin Ermac and his men personally informed motorists coming from Ouano Avenue that one-way traffic is being raised on Logarta Street and that all the four lanes there can be passed only by vehicles going to Cebu City. — /JMD (FREEMAN)