EDITORIAL — Some suggestions

In ordering drinking fountains to be built in many parts of city, Cebu City’s new chief executive, Mayor Nestor Archival, is on the right track to eliminating the need for people to always buy --and then later dispose of -- single-use plastic bottles.

We laud such a good initiative, but we would like to suggest two things that can also make the city better: the first is improving lighting in some parts of the city, the second is to make sidewalks safer for pedestrians.

As to lighting, a good many parts of the city, especially the lowland areas, are actually well-lit after dark, no complaints for such areas. But then again there is always a stretch of road here and there where the overhead light has given up and hasn’t been replaced, or stretches of road where there are overhead light sources but these are far between.

While such areas are the exception rather than the rule, we hope these will be addressed.

The same with sidewalks, it should also be said that not all sidewalks need improving. There are actually many parts of the city where pedestrians can safely use sidewalks without having to worry about obstructions and hazards.

But then again there are also many parts of the city where ambulant vendors or even establishments have encroached and taken over, there are also parts of the sidewalk so narrow or so unsafe that people move to the road because it feels safer for them to walk there.

There was actually a proposal before to “standardize” all the sidewalks of the city, especially the arcaded ones in the downtown area, but this wouldn’t be easy to do considering that some establishments aren’t on the same level even if they exist side by side.

Many establishments have also built barriers on their sidewalks to keep floodwaters out during heavy rains, creating a literal hurdle for pedestrians.

We hope the new administration can come up with solutions to these issues.