BRT assures long term benefits ahead: Public told to endure temporary traffic woes

CEBU, Philippines — The business sector in Cebu is encouraging residents to endure temporary inconveniences, such as the worsening traffic condition resulting from the ongoing construction of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

This collective sacrifice is seen as a necessary step to pave the way for long-term benefits that the BRT infrastructure promises to bring to Cebu, said Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Charles Kenneth C. Co.

“We have to sacrifice if we want to progress. We have to bear the brunt. But, once BRT is done, it's good for Cebu,” said Co.

During CCCI’s recently held briefing, Co stressed that the business sector is looking forward to the completion of the BRT operation, and he also hopes for a better mass transit system and a much-improved road network in the coming years.

Though the BRT project has finally been realized 20 years after its conception, businessmen and entrepreneurs look forward to how it would contribute to increase productivity with improved mobility among the citizenry.

“Having the BRT is better late than never. Let us see how that helps,” Co said when interviewed during the maiden cast of Patigayon Sugbo, a new segment in Sugboanon Channel tackling about local economy on Friday, January 5, 2023.

Co underscored the need to seriously address the traffic problem in the city as it has taken its toll on people’s productivity.

But he said the business community appreciates Mayor Mike Rama’s efforts to find ways to ease the traffic condition, especially in the Banilad-Talamban corridor, even if these are just immediate and short-term solutions.

In the longer term, it is “better to have mass transit, like a train system,” Co said, adding “once you have too many cars coming into one small area, it will be difficult for traffic.”

Having been to Melbourne himself, he confirmed what Mayor Rama and his son Mikel shared upon their return from their family vacation about cars from the outskirts of Melbourne, stop in the suburbs and take the tram into the city.

After Rama ascended as mayor in early 2022, he has been open about his dream of a monorail serving city constituents and, from his Melbourne experience, he had floated the idea of trams transporting commuters in city centers.

Circumferential road

Meanwhile, Co expressed anticipation of the realization of the Mayor’s plan to establish a four-lane circumferential from South Road Properties (SRP) through Tisa, Guadalupe, and Lahug towards SM City Cebu.

“We do need these alternative routes. This can help decongest the traffic,” he said, noting that it would divert traffic in the Ayala area and the busy Escario St. and Gen. Maxilom Ave.

He also lauded the support of the developer of Monterrazas de Cebu for undertaking the segment from Banawa Elementary School towards Quijada St. until the corner of V. Rama Ave. through a public-private partnership (PPP).

Co hopes other developers or contractors would do the same with the other segments of the planned circumferential road.

Mayor Rama had asked the D.M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) Group to assume a segment of the road, especially along the portion where it will develop Kalea Heights in the Labangon-Banawa area.

During one of his investment marketing missions in the second half of 2022, DMCI Holdings, Inc. chairman and president Isidro “Sid” A. Consunji assured Rama his team will study and may consider pursuing the project.

The City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) headed by Archt. Yumi Espina,  designed the circumferential road that originates in the south, starting from SRP (South Road Properties) near Nustar, passing through Pond A via Cabreros St. and F. Llamas Streets, navigating a segment of Katipunan St. and ascending the hills of Banawa.

The route then extends through Paseo Arcenas and Apple One Residences, traversing Banawa Elementary School and progressing towards Quijada St., a section that the Monterazzas developer plans to construct through a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP). This road network integrates with the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) Guadalupe-Lahug by-pass road project, directing traffic towards St. John Paul II Avenue, and ultimately leading to SM City Cebu in the north reclamation area. — (FREEMAN)