Some suggestions to ease traffic

I am a regular reader of your daily newspaper and particularly read with interest your article that I find very informative and positively well-written. I thank you for finally coming out with “suggestions that can be implemented relatively quickly, with political will and resources.” I would like to add “planning skills, foresight and simple common sense.” Since returning to the Philippines a year ago, I’ve witnessed and continue to experience the deteriorating traffic situation not only in Metro Manila but also in the neighboring provinces. The situation has come to a point that, while in other countries the first question to ask when starting a conversation is about the weather situation, here, we ask about the traffic situation! The article finally pushed me to put in writing what I’ve been mulling for months, and this is actually my very first attempt to write my thoughts and send them to a daily paper!  

Below are some suggestions in addition to those already mentioned.

Roadworks should be completed without delay and contractors should be obliged to work 24 hours daily. Water companies experienced delayed completion of their projects that result in clogged streets for months. With high under/unemployment rate in the country, I believe that we have enough manpower willing to work from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m.

 Reduce the number of intersections to a maximum of one per two kilometers where vehicles could make left/right and/or U turns. The intersections should be located in areas where there is sufficient space to expand or add an additional lane near the intersection point. An extra kilometer or so of travel to make a turn is in fact cheaper, more environmentally and healthy friendly than idling and moving at a crawling speed which are aggravated due to busy intersections.

Require shopping malls and big commercial centers particularly the new or still under planning/construction to construct a fly-over/underpass for vehicle entry and exit. Further, pedestrian over/underpass should also be part of the requirement for these malls and establishments.

Penalize jaywalking as it causes traffic and worse, serious accidents.

Remove obstructions near the intersections and relocate passenger loading and unloading areas to at least 500 meters from the intersections.

Implement traffic rules strictly that should result in smooth traffic flow even if the volume of vehicles is high, i.e. Illegal parking, loading and unloading in the middle of the road and in unauthorized areas, beating the red light, etc. Penalty should be imposed for such traffic infractions. It is unfortunate that while some traffic enforcers would try to catch private vehicles for some traffic violations, imagined or real, they turn a blind eye to public utility vehicles.

Install more CCTVs as traffic monitors and catch traffic violations. This should complement the monitoring and implementation of traffic rules in areas not covered by traffic enforcers. Traffic violation tickets should be sent to the offender by mail/email together with the picture of the violation indicating the date/time and location. As already suggested, the penalty can be paid in accredited banks and also at payment centers. Hire honest, well-trained and well-paid staff to be in-charge of monitoring the CCTV footages and in mailing the traffic violation tickets to offenders.

Penalties for traffic violations should be used as a “stick”, thus, there is a need to review the penalties to discourage repeat offenders, including cancellation of driver’s license for serious offenses and/or repeated violations.

In the same vein, traffic enforcers caught receiving/demanding bribe or extortion (kotong) should be heavily penalized to discourage this unacceptable practice, no matter how small the amount is involved. The CCTV cameras should be of great assistance in this regard as well as the general public.

Watering of plants on the “islands” or on the roadside particularly using water tankers should be done from 12mn till 5 a.m. In fact it is advisable to water plants after sundown to reduce evaporation.

Provide proper and regular training to those involved in traffic management. As a regular commuter I often noticed that traffic enforcers are not aware of the interrelatedness of traffic flow as they tend to only manage the movement in the intersection that they handle without regard to its implication on the other intersections and the other lanes. This is the reason why in some areas, traffic enforcers implement the “buhos” system which should be totally stopped.

Synchronize traffic lights according to the volume of traffic at certain times of the day/night.

I echo your suggestion to have an elected MMDA head that should have the authority to not only manage the traffic but also other services that are interconnected/interrelated. Many services, e.g. flood control, water and solid waste management, improvement of waterways, etc. are not limited by city/municipality boundaries. An MMDA without such power would prove inutile to resolve regional issues. The development of other regions should be given very serious thoughts not only by our government leaders but also by the economic and social movers. They will also suffer losses if they cannot produce and move their products efficiently, among others, due to traffic problem and concentration of socio-economic activities in Metro Manila. Thank you very much. – Jose Belleza, Dasmariñas, Cavite