Extend Colon Street etc.

In 1961, the Philippine National Historical Commission put a marker at Colon Street this city claiming that this 1.17 kilometer street is the oldest (and shortest) national road in the Philippines. Another marker, pedestrians call as little obelisk, was built in 1999. Two significant historical markers placed almost four decades apart. The name Colon, by the way, was taken from the Iberian explorer/navigator Cristobal Colon, more famous as Christopher Columbus.

This claim of Kalye Colon as the oldest street in the Philippines appears to have been recently challenged. In a bold assertion, Dr. Jose Eleazar Reynes Bersales, Cebu historian and archaeologist, pointed out that the belief that Colon Street being the oldest street in the Philippines is “probably by far the oldest fake news in the country today.” In an article which he wrote for a real estate magazine, Dr. Bersales said that “there is no extant Spanish-era document or map, published or unpublished, that has come to light claiming that Colon Street was the first trail, road, or street that the Spaniards built xxx”

There is a need for government authorities to address this issue. The cloud of doubt which Dr. Bersales might have wittingly seeded must, in the highest interest of truth and historical fact, be looked into. If our boastful claim is founded upon indefeasible proof, let us trumpet it to the world even more. Otherwise, we should uphold the truth and rectify an error.

This article though is written for a different objective. True to the off tangent nature of this column, this write-up suggests that government does something to help solve the rapidly deteriorating traffic condition in our beloved Cebu City, beginning with Colon Street. One end of this “oldest national street” is at Mabini Street. Heavy volume of vehicular traffic upon reaching that end flows thru that narrow Mabini Street and another still narrower Urdaneta Street towards Pier 1 of the port area where hundreds of huge cargo trucks and private vehicles converge 24/7. It may improve the flow of traffic if Colon Street is extended by punching a direct road stretch towards M.J, Cuenca Avenue (old Martires) and on to Sergio Osmena Avenue and Arellano Boulevard serving Piers 2 and 3.

The corner of Colon and D. Jakosalem Streets is critical. The side of D. Jakosalem Street going towards uptown area is supposed to serve as parallel to Jones Avenue (now Osmeña Boulevard) in order to absorb a part of traffic to and from the capitol area. To achieve that objective, D. Jakosalem has to be widened. The present circumstance that many of the business establishments fronting the University of the Visayas towards P. del Rosario/Imus Streets passing by Simoun and Bonifacio Streets have stopped operations is a rare window of opportunity. The road right of way costs shall be lower and any road building works do not cause much adverse effect.

The span between D. Jakosalem Street starting from corner Sanciangco to P del Rosario is rather long, too long to show absence of reasonable planning. Somewhere in the middle of this stretch a road has to be constructed. That opening will actually be an extension of Bonifacio Street towards Junquera Street. At present Bonifacio Street ends at D Jakosalem Street. If such extension is ever going to be done, the other end of Bonifacio Street at M J Cuenco Avenue needs likewise to be extended towards MacArthur Boulevard in order to decongest heavy traffic at the parallel T Padilla Street.

This article may not attract the attention of literary minded readers. But if Dr. Bersales can confirm that the last road constructions done in the city took place in 1992, they may call their government connections to read this column again in-spite of its unappealing composition!