Letter To The Editor - 1 April 2009

Mr. Dong Magsajo

Columnist The Philippine STAR

Dear Mr. Magsajo,

We are writing in reaction to the issue raised in your “Backseat Driver” column last March 18, 2009 regarding the construction of an elevated U-turn slot along the intersection of C5 Road and Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City.

First, we would like to emphasize that MMDA decided to undertake the construction of the elevated U-turn since it presents a “simple and straightforward solution” to the traffic situation in the said area. It was chosen over a fly-over or an underpass as it would allow the continuous flow of vehicles. In contrast, a fly-over would include an intersection where vehicles have to “stop and go”. And this would also cause a “funnel effect” in the flow of incoming vehicles.

The study was backed by a simulation of the traffic flow at C5-Kalayaan Avenue, that was presented and discussed thoroughly with representatives of the Makati City Government, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWS) and the National Center for Transport Studies (NCTS) – University of the Philippines. It was only after a series of presentations and meetings that took about a year, when the representatives of said offices were convinced and agreed about the effectivity and practicality of the elevated U-turn.

We would also like to inform you that before the MMDA started with the project, it looked into the other options you presented, as follows:

1.         Widen the road – as you may have noticed, before the start of construction of the U-turn Slot, a road widening near the intersection was made. This is to compensate for the area where the elevated U-turn is being set-up. A simple widening of C5 to add more lanes will involve the whole stretch from Katipunan to South Superhighway and this will involve a huge budget.

2.         Offer an alternate route – C5 Road is already an alternate route of EDSA.

3.         Closing of the intersection – Prior to the construction of the elvated U-turn, we have tried to close the intersection of C5 and Kalayaan several times and diverted the traffic to an at-grade U-turn slot. This did not work and the situation got worst.

By constructing the elevated U-turn, the 3-lane thru traffic, in both directions is maintained. Right turning vehicles shall use the service road while those turning left shall use the elevated U-turn slot, wherein the intersection will be closed for the continuous flow of traffic.

Thank you and best regards.

Very truly yours,

ANGELITO S. VERGEL DE DIOS

Director IV

Traffic Operations Center