Bear with us, MMDA asks irate motorists

After admitting that traffic was "normally heavy" following the lifting of the "color-coding" scheme, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) appealed to the public yesterday to be patient and not to pass judgment too quickly on the experimental lifting of the ban.

Furious motorists have criticized the MMDA for its decision to lift the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) for a period of three weeks, blaming the decision for the horrendous traffic in the last two days.

MMDA Executive Director for Traffic Angelito Vergel de Dios relayed the statement of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando that it was still too early to pass judgment on the move, which began only Monday.

He admitted, however, that there were huge traffic jams last Monday which lasted until about 9:30 in the evening.

He argued that the problem was limited to three particular areas, namely: Elliptical Road and Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and the South Superhighway in Makati City.

The problem was traced to the Tandang Sora area, along the northbound lane of Commonwealth Avenue, but since traffic along Elliptical Road was affected, the southbound lane was likewise problematic.

De Dios pointed out that there were too many joyriders who celebrated the lifting of the UVVRP by going out in their cars for no particular reason.

To monitor the increase in the volume of vehicles, De Dios said, special teams have been deployed to the major thoroughfares to focus entirely on the plate numbers of vehicles on the road.

These teams have been directed to count the number of vehicles that should have been covered by the color-coding scheme.

The duty shifts of the motorcycle units of the MMDA have also been reduced to two from three so that more of them would be on the road during the critical hours.

De Dios explained that this would translate to 100 motorcycle units deployed along the major thoroughfares during each shift to assist the traffic enforcers.

Instead of simply responding to traffic jams when they occur, the motorcycle units would be stationed at problem areas to prevent gridlocks.

De Dios said he cannot understand why the same people who have been clamoring for the lifting of the color-coding scheme are the same ones who are now demanding its re-implementation.

The MMDA has a group of consultants funded by the Asian Development Bank to study the impact of the color-coding scheme’s removal on the overall traffic situation.

Depending on the results of the three-week experiment, the MMDA could re-enforce the UVVRP, implement a new scheme or permanently remove the scheme. Makati City has decided not to participate in the lifting to the UVVRP because of the large volume of vehicles entering the city on a daily basis.

Mayor Jejomar Binay argued that the UVVRP effectively reduces the volume of traffic entering Makati City by at least 20 percent.