Traffic leading to bridge ‘becoming worse’

CEBU, Philippines - As the area is a bottleneck for vehicular traffic, motorists and commuters going to and coming from Lapu-Lapu City have been complaining of road congestion near the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge.

One motorist took to a social networking site his observation.

“This is a very real problem for everyone trying to go up to the first bridge from Mandaue. People make singit. Unlike in Lapu-Lapu City where there is a traffic enforcer who forces everyone to follow one single lane because it’s logically faster that way,” said the motorist in a Facebook account post.

“Someone in Mandaue, please tell your traffic enforcers to think of a solution,” the post continued.

The motorist said he hopes that the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM) can eliminate the double lane leading towards the bridge and implement a single lane for a fast flow of traffic just like what Lapu-Lapu City is doing on the other end of the bridge.

Sought for his reaction, Retired Major Edwin Ermac, traffic director of Mandaue City, said they have already tried years back to implement a single lane leading towards the bridge to eliminate the bottleneck at the foot of the bridge.

But Ermac said it did not work for the city.

He explained that when they made an experiment, it was found out that the queue of vehicles wanting to use the bridge would reach up to A.C. Cortes and Plaridel Streets in Barangay Alang-Alang, consuming more of the motorists’ travel time.

Ermac further explained that if they implemented the single lane back, it will block some of the major thoroughfares of the city and cause the traffic congestion.

“Mahimo na ang single lane didto sa Lapu-Lapu City bisan og niabot sad ang linya sa mga sakyanan nila ngadto sa Barangay Pusok kay wa man sila’y mga major thoroughfares nga ma-block-kan,” Ermac said.

He added that if they will implement the single lane back in the city, they would need at least 10 to 15 traffic enforcers to man the area leading to the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, something which cannot be done due to the lack of personnel.

“Kay atong traffic enforcers ra sad maoy bantayan anang mga motorist. Kun mag-single lane ta, wala tuo’y magsingitan duol sa bridge apan adto na sad ang singitan nila dapit sa may UCLM (a university campus in the area),” Ermac said.

In addition, the traffic woes at the foot of the bridge are also being attributed to the problem on the public utility jeepneys.

“Kay bisan og dili pakanaugan og mga pasahero ang maong dapit, apan ila gyung buhaton,” Ermac said.

Ermac also said traffic also became worse in the area because of the ongoing road construction at corner Plaridel and Ouano Streets.

The construction would prompt motorists passing the Marcelo Fernan Bridge to instead use the other bridge.

“Mao nang nagdasok sad tanan ron diha sa Fernan Birdge gumikan sa gibuhat nga dalan,” Ermac said.  — Flor Z. Perolina (FREEMAN)