QC asks MMDA to remove rotunda

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon City government has requested the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to consider taking out the rotunda it built at the intersection of Quirino Highway and Mindanao Avenue following mounting complaints from motorists.

Mayor Herbert Bautista yesterday ordered secretary to the mayor and Novaliches district center officer-in-charge Tadeo Palma and city public order and safety chief Elmo San Diego to coordinate with the MMDA to determine whether to continue allowing the utilization of the rotunda or to experiment on other alternatives to improve traffic flow in the area, particularly along Quirino Highway, which is the gateway for motorists bound for the northern part of the city, the “bukid (field)” area of Caloocan and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.

“Quezon City should have been consulted prior to the construction of the rotunda,” Bautista said. “The rotunda has actually defeated the purpose of road widening along Quirino Highway.”

However, despite the complaints, the city government will continue experimenting on the use of the rotunda until the opening of the new school year.

“If after resumption of classes, the rotunda will worsen the flow of traffic in the area, the city government will have to insist that the rotunda be removed,” Palma said.