‘Go for road widening, not band-aid solutions’

CEBU, Philippines — Unless roads are widened, infrastructure projects such as underpasses and depressed structures that are up for implementation will not answer the traffic problem in Metro Cebu.

This was Cebu City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia’s comment on a report that the metro incurs a billion pesos in economic losses daily because of road congestions.

“For me, underpass projects or depressed projects are not long-term solutions but band-aid solutions because there is no increase in road capacity,” Garcia told reporters yesterday.

Local chief executives, he said, are not experts in urban planning, so they should work with the right people and institutions, such as the Mega Cebu and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, to address the traffic problem in a holistic manner.

“To make decisions on traffic, there should be a master plan that must be followed. They have to rethink their plans and they have to cooperate with Mega Cebu and JICA because they have better perspectives and understanding of our problem involving traffic,” said Garcia.

The FREEMAN tried to get Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s comment on the report but he was unavailable as of this writing.

In earlier interviews, however, he was vocal about his disinterest in supporting the Mega Cebu, which he said “is not a legal person,” unlike a corporation or foundation.

“Mega Cebu is not a legal person. That is why they don’t exist,” the mayor earlier said.

But what is the answer to Cebu City’s traffic problem?

For Francisco Ouano, operations chief of Cebu City Transportation Office, it is simply widening the roads.

“Progressive man gyod atong syudad so ma-expect nato nga naa gyod ang traffic. Dili raman pod ang Cebu City ang traffic, apil na tanan gyod. Ang ato lang ani ang pag-widen sa roads,” he said.

Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph earlier quoted the initial results of a study conducted by JICA, which stated that Metro Cebu loses P1.1 billion economically every day because of the traffic problem.

While CCTO is enforcing all traffic laws, Ouano said the city needs the cooperation of the motorists and drivers to be responsible car owners.

He said road accidents also contribute to the traffic problem, which is why CCTO personnel are on standby to respond to any incidents on the road.

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III, for his part, said road improvement and infrastructure projects are necessary for development, even if they come at an extra cost of traffic congestions.

Road projects are often seen as obstructions which contribute to the slow flow of vehicles on main circuit roads.

“Kaning mga projects man gud sa roads, these are necessary improvements. Afterwards pagkahuman niini, mo-normalize ra man pud,” he said.

Although Davide said he is not an economist to refute or concur with the projected daily losses due to traffic, he urged the public to understand that a government project is intended for the greater good.

“It just needs a lot of patience from the public,” he said.

He added that the temporary burden or revenue losses arising from these projects will be offset by the convenience they create will once they are completed. —JMD (FREEMAN)