They came to protest any and all schemes proposed to alleviate an anticipated traffic mess on Mariano Cuenco Avenue but the Department of Public Works and Highways would hear none of it, insisting there was no stopping the start of construction of a flyover on the so-called Banilad-Talamban road this February 1.
Drawing particular flak from residents and business owners in the affected area is the planned implementation of an odd-even scheme where vehicles with plates ending in odd or even numbers would be alternately banned from traversing the road on a given day.
Dr. Nanette Avila, one of those who flocked to the DPWH offices for a public hearing, asked if it was not possible to defer the start of construction of the 390-meter elevated roadway until such time that all arterial roads identified by CITOM, the traffic arm of Cebu City, as alternative access and detour routes are ready.
But DPWH officials would hear none of her arguments that the proposed rerouting is not well-planned and properly coordinated as seen from the fact that the DPWH has not even started improving these roads.
Once construction starts, only one lane in each direction of the avenue will be available to traffic, prompting fears of monstrous traffic jams in an area that, in normal times, is already congested.
The Banilad-Talamban area is a prime residential and business location but the avenue is the only direct access road that serves it.
Even neighboring Mandaue City is worried, especially in the aftermath of a threat made by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena that he might as well ban all private vehicles from the road if that is the only way to solve the traffic woes in the area.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said that if Osmena actually implements the ban, at least four adjoining barangays in his city will be affected, namely Cabangcalan, Maguikay, Banilad and Subangdaku, as private vehicles banned from the avenue will be forced to divert into the small sideroads located in these areas.
Cortes, however, said he will not be complaining about the dire prospect, saying that as a good neighbor, he has to be considerate to the plight of Cebu City residents inconvenienced by the anticipated mess.
Cortes, who allied himself with Osmena in his word war with his predecessor Thadeo Ouano, said Mandaue City traffic authorities are now coordinating with their CITOM counterparts to map out contingency plans.
CITOM is bent on implementing its odd-even scheme despite the vehement public objection, with executive officer Arnel Tancinco explaining that under the scheme, vehicles with plates ending in odd numbers will be allowed on the road only on dates with odd numbers while those with even-numbered plates can pass only on even-numbered dates.
Tancinco estimated that some 7,000 private vehicles and about 600 jeepneys use the avenue each day.
Some of the objectors began to get testy during the hearing, pointing out how unfair the number of days in the months ahead will be to those with even-nunbered plates since the months of February and March both end on odd-numbered dates and therefore have more odd-numbered days.
Tancinco promised to have all detour roads rehabilitated and cleared of illegal structures and parking. He also said some peripheral roads may have to be declared no-parking zones.
On the other hand, jeepneys would be segregated according to route numbers, with 13C jeepneys allowed to pass only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while the 13B, 62B, 62C and 65B routes are allowed to pass only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Emergency and utility vehicles will however be allowed on the avenue at all times.
The estimated period of construction of the flyover is 10 months.
On Monday, the city council will hold its own public hearing on the odd-even scheme, said councilor Sylvan Jakosalem, chairman of the committee on traffic management, communications and utilities.
WTG Construction and Development Corporation, which won the project with an P86.9 million bid, promised to finish the project in six months, way short of the contracted 10-month period. — with Flor Perolina/JST