Seeing red and yellow

One bright October morning last week just before Typhoon Paeng struck, residents of Barrio Kapitolyo and the city of Pasig walked out of their respective houses or vehicles and were greeted by curbs and corners painted yellow as yellow can be or angry red. When I first saw the bright traffic yellow curb on our interior street in Barrio Kapitolyo, I thought one of my neighbors just wanted to be different, but then the yellow painted curb stretched going up in front of another neighbor’s house. My next thought was if the choice of colors was part of a lazy workers “I don’t care attitude” that morning? Or was someone making a “political statement”? A few days later, after returning from out of town, one of the residents sent me a message via Viber calling my attention to what the painted curbs were all about and if I could address it in this column space.

It seems that someone from Pasig City hall came up with the painted curbs project as a color scheme to tell motorists if the area they plan to park at is “Open parking,” “No Parking” or “Loading and Unloading zone only.” From what I gathered, the project will apply to all areas of Pasig City and will be enforced by way of tire clamping and fines. The Red Curb areas are either high traffic zones or corner curbs which understandably and logically should be kept free of all types of vehicles. This idea was introduced in Barrio Kapitolyo even before the COVID-19 pandemic using paint and clamps, but the application was quite sketchy or unclear, starting with the fact that most motorists are used to seeing street signs or look for international signposts and not painted stripes on the road.

Even worse were the arrests based on main roads being declared as “Mabuhay” or alternate roads but without any street signs to educate the public except in media but not in actual signs. This also infuriates business owners who pay business licenses and permits to city hall as well as taxes, only to find their customers chased away or avoiding their establishments because of tire clamping campaigns and fines. As one would put it: With the right hand they collect money from business and with the left hand they collect fines from customers. How business friendly is that?! Add to that the fact that enforcement was selective. Certain stores and carinderia or eateries were exempt or untouched even as customers parked on Red striped – no parking zones.

But now things might get more complicated and downright unfriendly in Pasig City, according to another resident who researched on the painted curbs policy. If the curb in your area of residence is painted traffic yellow, it means cars cannot park there on a long-term basis, not even if you are a resident or your tire would be clamped. Residents are puzzled by this because majority of residents live on interior or inner streets away from the main road and commercial area. In fact, there are four distinct areas of Barrio Kapitolyo that we had proposed in the past to be “gated” and exclusive to residents while allowing the loop and main roads to general traffic. But now what the painted curb program has done is to paint interior streets as “Loading and unloading areas only,” regardless of the fact that commercial vehicles do not regularly enter those streets.

The general rule in commercial or traffic area is a 15-minute limit, which means that residents in Barrio Kapitolyo or Pasig City in general can no longer entertain guests or visitors for longer than 15 minutes unless they have available space in their garage or can find a commercial parking in the neighborhood which hardly exists. So, what happens when friends or family come to visit Pasigueños in their cars? Do we tell them they have to keep their motor running or watch the clock, go around the barrio once and then come back and do it all over again? Or do we insist they come via Grab car or take public transportation because the City of Pasig is now like an ICU: “Visiting period is limited to 15 minutes only?” Either somebody did not expect this situation or City Hall is embarking on a scheme that would force Pasigueños to do all of their social gatherings and events inside malls, restaurants and business establishments that have ample parking space.

To be fair I have not managed to go further than the official post of City hall. But then again, we were never asked or consulted as residents so I suppose I shouldn’t feel so guilty about not getting their side. In all seriousness, I understand the intent of City Hall but it is the madness of their method that undermines all their good intentions. First of all, in terms of priorities, the Pasig painters could have refreshed the zebra lines or pedestrian crossings first, then they could have spent money fixing sidewalks for people to walk on, they could have opened the two public parks to the public instead of keeping them locked, then they could have gone after offices and commercial establishments that have turned houses inside Barrio Kapitolyo into dirty, unkept bodegas.

Instead of spending money painting curbs, City Hall should have encouraged or incentivized property owners to paint their walls. At the very least, residents of Barrio Kapitolyo should also be allowed to enter from the Sta. Monica bridge using stickers instead of adding more cars to the traffic going into Pasig. Maybe, it would be nice if City Hall officials also made an effort to meet and greet and consult with the people who trusted them with their votes and also listen to their views. That’s the first step and what good neighbors do.

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