‘Give it a chance’

CEBU, Philippines — Amid negative criticisms on the installation of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted traffic system and the opening of a new bypass road at the South Road Properties (SRP), an official of the Cebu City Transportation Office said the public should give the innovation a chance, especially that it already has a positive impact.

Atty. Kent Francesco Jongoy, CCTO assistant head, said that after traffic build-up was noted in the first few days, as the AI traffic system adjusted, it is slowly not happening anymore as the days go by.

“Let us share the road once and for all, ladies and gentlemen. This is development,” he said.

“Since its commencement of operations and the opening of the bypass road, we have observed positive impact,” he also said.

Jongoy said “positive” here means the SRP “has achieved a milestone on accessibility” because for the longest time, the only way to reach the area was either by the Cebu South Coastal Road or Vestil St.

Jongoy also recalled the time when accessibility was restricted, when a “No SRP Pass, No Entry” policy was in place.

“Before the road network, people have been accustomed to its traffic situation,” he said, adding that whether the traffic is free-flowing or congested, people have used the area as a primary gateway to both the cities of Cebu and Talisay.

Earlier, Jongoy also said that the CSCR is not an expressway, as others think.

And while he agreed that what’s not broken should not be fixed, innovation should also be given a chance.

“Are we really going to stop there…? Because we have been accustomed to its traffic situation that we entitle ourselves with the present condition and avoid innovations that may, somehow, not just provide options to improve accessibility but ultimately make the SRP a business district that everyone may appreciate?” Jongoy said.

He cited the National Capital Region as an example, saying it is a place where “accessibility is a driver towards its economic viability.”

Aside from that, he said, improved accessibility has also provided people with options and the freedom to choose ways and means to navigate to and reach their destinations from wherever they come from.

“Applying the same concept in the SRP, do we really have options or at least a freedom of choice whether or not to put ourselves in a position where there is free-flowing or congested traffic flow?” Jongoy said.

He said that while a traffic situation is a choice not only by a single motorist but by everyone in the community, “the bureaucracy (is the one) providing options to navigation or simply accessibility”.

He noted that a few people “have succumbed to selfishness in their approach to the Bypass Road and its traffic mitigating measure - the newly installed traffic lights”

“In a sense that they tend to rant that mere seconds of stop to allow other motorists to traverse the intersection feels like an eternity of congestion that they describe as ---maoy nagdala og traffic sa SRP,” Jongoy said. — (FREEMAN)