MMDA to beef up teams for Valentine’s traffic

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said yesterday it would beef up traffic monitoring for the Valentine’s weekend even as it warned motorists and commuters to brace themselves for heavy traffic.

Director Angelito Vergel de Dios, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority-Traffic Operations Center (MMDA-TOC), said they would be sending additional units to monitor roads leading to hotels; restaurants, concert venues; shopping centers, some of which will hold mallwide sales; and motels in Sta. Mesa and other short-time lodges in the cities of Pasig and Pasay.

Vergel de Dios said this has been an annual routine for the agency.

"We are prepared for these kind of occasions and we have already identified areas where traffic would be heavy," he said. "Our advice to the public is that they enjoy the day without becoming an obstruction to the flow of traffic."

Vergel de Dios also admitted that the parking space inside motels might not be enough to accommodate all their clients. Some would opt to wait in their cars outside the premises, thereby restricting the flow of traffic.

The MMDA director said augmentation personnel would be dispatched in areas, where heavy traffic is monitored. "We will send motorcycle units — our troubleshooters to take care of illegally parked vehicles and untangle traffic jams."