Green Loop team set to make formal assessment

CEBU, Philippines - Organizers of Sunday’s Green Loop road-sharing experiment are bent on forming an official assessment of the activity.

Lead organizer Movement for a Livable Cebu intends to thoroughly discuss in a meeting first week of October what transpired—good and bad— during the test run of the proposed road-sharing scheme designed by University of San Carlos College of Fine Arts and Architecture faculty and students.

The meeting will involve participating sectors in the recently-concluded road-sharing experiment.

In a statement posted last night over Movement for a Livable Cebu’s official Facebook group page, lead convener Marc Canton took the time to thank those who supported and even acknowledged the drawbacks.

“After the experiment, it is clear that we, the organizers, could have done better. Please note that the learning we are getting from this experiment are very important for all the groups concerned to formulate solutions for our staggering problems,” the post read.

“We believe, we can now take the next step forward bringing us closer to proposals for the city to address these problems. We need to do this now because we have 625,000 vehicles plying our roads, and we are adding 50,000 new vehicles every year. If we do not do anything about this problem now, then it’s not going to get easier,” it further said.

Among the acknowledged institutions that partnered with MLC in conducting the bold road-sharing initiative were Cebu City government, City Traffic Operations Management Office, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mega Cebu, Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water Foundation, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, jeepney drivers association, and non-governmental organizations, as well as environmental advocates like Lawyer Antonio Oposa.

For his part, Committee on Transportation chairman Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo shared that the experiment led to several realizations like the need to redefine and revisit the zoning policies of the city.

Carillo said the activity highlighted the lack of sidewalk and pedestrian areas along the road due to establishments “encroaching” the required setback.

“We need to place, probably by policy, to expand our roads. The five-meter setback must be followed to provide walkway and even bike lane. Because what is happening is that establishments are encroaching our roads and building structures within the supposed setback,” Carillo pointed out.

The councilor said he intends to propose a resolution before the council to revisit and further define the five-meter setback which is the space in between an establishment and the main road.

“We can start at the Mambaling-SRP service road. That can be used as walkway for joggers and hikers and at bike lanes as well. We need to uphold the five-meter setback from the elbow of the road for the non-motorized public,” Carillo said. — (FREEMAN)