Mixed-use bldg to address sports center parking woes

CEBU, Philippines - To address the lack of parking space at the Cebu City Sports Center, the City City Council has requested the City Engineering Office to prepare the program of works and estimates for the conversion of a city-owned structure on a lot at R. R. Landon Street into a five-level mixed-use building.

In an approved resolution authored by City Councilor Eugenio Gabuya, the council said there is a need to provide a bigger parking area within the vicinity of the CCSC for the benefit of local and foreign sports enthusiasts.

“The Cebu City Sports Center is the venue of big events in the city such as the annual Sinulog, regional and national sports tournaments, religious gatherings and concerts,” Gabuya said in justifying the proposal.

He said there is a need to address the lack of accessible parking since it can hurt local business and decrease the “quality of life of residents.”

Gabuya said that the measure would help the city become a premier destination in terms of economic development in the country.

“The Cebu City Sports Center has a designated covered parking area that can only accommodate not more than 125 vehicles on the ground of the city-owned building occupying lot no. 1426 located at R.R. Landon Cebu City,” read the resolution.

“Even on ordinary days, parking is a problem… because hundred of sports enthusiasts and health conscious individuals flock there to attend to various sports trainings,” it added.

Gabuya said that converting the building in a mixed-use structure would address parking problems of the CCSC, Gabuya said.

He said that each level of the proposed five-level building would have its own parking area that can accommodate not less than 100 vehicles, designated sports facilities, and access to the swimming pool, canteen, oval, and grandstand.

The City Council also requested the Office of the Mayor to support the proposal. (FREEMAN)