Bloody traffic doesn’t have to be so bloody painful

Work on the LRT 2 line extension will worsen traffic flow in the eastern portion of Metro Manila toward the end of September.

The pain brought by Metro Manila’s traffic is bound to get worse before it gets any better.

Construction work has just begun on major connector roads within the city. The Skyway 3 project that will link South Luzon Expressway to the North Luzon Expressway via an elevated toll road is in full swing.

Roads currently affected are Osmeña highway and G. Araneta Avenue. Motorists traveling along Osmeña highway are reporting that drives which used to take 45 minutes are now stretching up to an hour and a half.

The roads adjacent to the airport terminals are now notorious for crawling speed due to the rushed construction for the airport elevated connector roads.

Meanwhile, roadworks for the LRT 2 line extension from Santolan in Pasig to Masinag in Antipolo just broke ground last week. After meeting with the LRT 2 project group, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Francis Tolentino said that the project will aggravate traffic conditions on Marcos Highway for the next two-and-a-half years. The word he used was “bloody.”

Worsening traffic flow is expected starting on the third week of September. This is expected to affect surrounding roads such as C-5, Katipunan Avenue, and Sumulong Highway.

“This is bloody,” Tolentino said. “There are many subdivisions, residential areas and schools [in the area]. It will be felt for two and a half years. All of us will have to adjust here.”

With all due respect to the chair, the adjustments that will be most effective in helping to minimize the impact has to be done by traffic management.

Take Marcos Highway as an example. Part of a 110-kilometer artery road, sections of the highway have been expanded into 10 lanes, five on each side. Unfortunately, during most times of the day, and particularly at peak traffic hours, jeepneys use at least two lanes as their unloading points. This chokes traffic up to several kilometers back.

The LRT 2 construction is starting to eat up at least one lane at the center. This leaves only one to two lanes for cars that are going through. And that’s on a clear day.

When rain pours, jeepney passengers begin spreading out on the highway itself as they try to hop on the next available jeep.

Facilities exist to allow jeepneys to load and unload without hampering traffic flow. Below the Marcos Highway bridge is a transport terminal, with multiple bays and lanes for proper handling of passengers and vehicles.

Robinsons Metro East has designated a corner of the property as a jeepney terminal. Neither facility has been fully utilized, and jeepneys instead continue to use all parts of the highway as their drop-off points.

These choke points of Marcos Highway—at the LRT Santolan station and at Robinsons near the corner of Felix Avenue—bring traffic to a halt every single morning and evening, and yet precisely nothing is being to change the situation.

The same thing is happening at various points along all major roads: Edsa, C-5, Quezon Avenue.

Motorists are imploring the MMDA and city traffic officers do more than just stand by and allow traffic to become even more bloody. Remove these choke points and allow traffic to flowbefore Metro Manila suffers a traffic-induced stroke.–With reports from Kristine Felisse Mangusay and Miguel R. Camus