Parañaque imposes new truck lane scheme

MANILA, Philippines - The Parañaque City government started implementing a new traffic rule yesterday, allowing trucks passing through major roads to use the center lane.

Private cars are supposed to occupy the inner lane while public utility jeepneys should be on the outer lane.

The new traffic rule is an offshoot of the expanded truck ban the city government started enforcing last Monday, according to Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

He said the scheme will be implemented daily, including on weekends.

The city government’s expanded truck ban is meant to ease congestion along major roads and mitigate the effects of plans to close the Sucat interchange, which is expected to cause traffic gridlocks in the area.

Olivarez said the city government recognizes the truckers’ importance in the local economy – there are many logistics and transport companies operating in the city due to its proximity to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“That is why we are implementing a selective truck ban to lessen the impact on our businessmen,” he said.

Olivarez said the city has an existing truck ban by virtue of a city ordinance passed years ago, but which is only being implemented on secondary roads.

The expanded truck ban covers the city’s major thoroughfares, including Dr. A. Santos Avenue (Sucat Road), the East and West Service Roads of the South Luzon Expressway, Ninoy Aquino Avenue, Airport Road, and Quirino Avenue.

The ban will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., with a window from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., from Mondays through Fridays. Those covered by the ban are 10-wheeler cargo trucks, trailer trucks, transit mixers, and those hauling sand and other heavy payloads.

Six-wheeler trucks are exempted from the ban to allow logistics and cargo forwarding companies to move their cargo to and from the airports and their warehouses at any time.