The proposal of City Councilor Jopet Baluran to implement a number coding system to ease traffic congestion runs counter to the city’s strategy for vehicular reduction program. It is a good intention however but as Chairman of the Transportation Committee he could first exhaust all possible solutions to the traffic congestion.
What Councilor Baluran may consider first is to restore all traffic lights to working condition and maybe add more to where it is needed most. It is a shame that while we boast of substantial revenue shares from internal revenue allotment our traffic signalling system is too jurassic compared to adjacent cities.
The City Council might also want to revisit the bicycle lanes which eat up a big portion of narrow city thoroughfares. The number of bicycles in the city is too miniscule for the city to allocate a special lane. Instead, the Transport Committee should have assigned the lane to motorcycles, tricycles and bicycles.
Adding to the congestion in the city traffic is the undeterred entry of long-bed trucks in the city poblacion. The City Transport and Traffic Management Office should be put to task to stop the entry of these type of vehicles. Not long time ago tricycles are not allowed in the city main thoroughfares and national highways. These days moreover they are operating in busy streets and sadly defying all traffic rules.
It is time for the City Sanggunian to study and look into the establishment of northern bus terminal.
There are definitely more options to do for which reason even acting Mayor Baste Duterte was not that enthusiastic when Councilor Baluran proposed his idea of implementing the coding system.
Among the options which the City Council can do is to monitor the progress of road and flyover infrastructures which have become a veritable problem in the condition of the city traffic instead of alleviating it. A perfect example is the construction of Ma-a – Magtood flyover which had been in the making for years but there is no saying as to when it will be finished. The City authorities are at the mercy of the inept Department of Public Works and Highways.
