Seoul is a model for traffic planning

In the early 80s, when the late Atty. Ronald Duterte sat as Cebu City mayor and Congressman Eduardo R. Gullas was the Cebu provincial governor, they laid down the foundation of an ambitious road building project. They saw what future was in store for the transport needs of Cebuanos. Roads that were built circa the pre-second world war years were just too narrow. As later years would tend to unravel, they were more built to follow the perimeters of the assets of influential families than to fill the need of the traveling public.

Government projects, no matter how worthy, were then characterized by delay. (It is probably true today). There were far too much bureaucracies to observe and sometimes duplicating studies that have to be completed. All in the interest of protecting public funds from being wasted. It thus, came to pass that the Duterte-Gullas program had to undergo such a bureaucratic grid mill.

After a long gestation period, the waiting paid off. The project got finally implemented about a decade later. The engines of construction whined in the early years of the term of Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña. It had undergone a change in nomenclature such that it became known as the MCDP. Today, we enjoy such widened streets as the V. Rama Avenue that reaches to the bowels of barangay Guadalupe and the Imus Road that cuts so much travel time between the former downtown area (evenetually known as the Central Business District of the city) towards the new center of business.

I remember this project because I saw a special feature of Seoul in South Korea on a cable tv channel the other day. It particularly tackled the transportation (read traffic) problem of that city few years ago. Described as one of the top cities of the world in terms of population and number of cars, Seoul grappled, and many times lost, with its terrible traffic nightmares.

Seeing that something had to be done, its mayor, despite serious opposition from many sectors, set out to solve the problem not only for his term but for the future generations as well. His methodology was radical because to him the problem was not conventional. For instance, how else could one describe the plan of demolishing a two-tiered multi lane highway that served as the main artery of the city’s vehicular traffic? Well, he did that!

Using modern technology, the Seoul City mayor calibrated the needs of the city’s increasing population of warm bodies and vehicles. He also determined and pushed for the massive construction of both surface road networks and underground rail systems and in the same bold vision, projected the kind and number of vehicles needed to keep the traffic flowing. Today, they reap the fruits of a real visionary leader whose heart and mind for the city could not be questioned.

In Cebu City, the last great effort for the city’s transport needs came in the early 90s. That was almost two decades ago! Our city leaders had not envisioned the traffic needs of our growing city. For example, while there were about three thousand taxi cabs plying the city then, at present, the number is estimated to have more than doubled. Yet, not a lineal meter had been added to our city streets.

Well, I am not aware of any plan of our city administration to tackle the emerging problem. Our leadership has not presented to our people any effort to address the shrinking space for vehicular traffic beyond such an obviously money-making venture as towing vehicles. Oh, such band aid type of a remedy is compatible only to mediocre mentality. Cebuanos do not deserve such a superficial solution to a grave problem.

I hope that those desiring to offer themselves to our people come 2010 elections will also consider drafting a comprehensive plan for our city’s traffic not only for the time being but at least, for a generation to come. Any takers?

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