‘Odd-even’ again? Aquino talks traffic

EDSA turns into a parking lot at rush hour but expect traffic to turn for the worse next year when the busy thoroughfare undergoes a major renovation. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

“Makiisa at dagdagan ang pang-unawa at pasensiya (Be one with us and have more patience and understanding).”

The appeal came straight from President Aquino as he assured Metro Manila residents and commuters on Thursday that his administration was doing its best to address the capital’s traffic and flood problems.

He said various plans to ease road congestion would soon be presented to him for his consideration.

The “most radical” solution he sees for now is the revival of the so-called odd-even scheme for vehicles, which was implemented in the early 1990s. “For sure traffic flow will be lighter since half of the vehicles will be out, but many will complain since they can’t use their cars. ”

“We want to solve all these problems. And we could have done it yesterday if only that was possible,” Aquino said in Filipino in a speech at Rizal Technological University in Mandaluyong City, where he inaugurated a school building. “There are limitations to what we can do and we cannot expect immediate results with just one step.”

The remarks came as an acknowledgment of the deteriorating traffic conditions that have become a daily ordeal for motorists and commuters on practically all major roads in the capital, with many swearing it has never been this bad.

As early as January 2014, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority warned of monstrous traffic jams due to the implementation of up to 13 major road-repair or expansion projects up to 2016. Netizens and the media then described it as the coming “carmageddon.”

For the President, the current traffic situation may be considered both “both good and bad news.”

“More than 22,400 new cars and other vehicles are sold each month. Add to that nearly 100,000 new motorcycles a month, or about 1.2 million new motorcycles last year. As a result, lalong siksikan sa kalsada (there is more road congestion),” he said.

“Now here’s the ideal situation: Build more bridges and widen the roads. However, this would take several years to implement,” he said, noting related concerns like right-of-way issues.

The prevailing thinking among those who complain now is: “We agree to the solutions, the construction (of new infrastructure), but spare us the inconvenience while those measures are being implemented.”

The President was on the RTU campus on Thursday to formally open the P600.98-million Sen. Neptali Gonzales Building.

He received a briefing from Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson also on the government’s master plan for flood management in the capital up to 2035.

The plan calls for at least P351.72 billion in infrastructure spending for several mega-projects, like a large dam on Marikina River costing P198 billion; a ring-road dike on the rim of Laguna de Bay; embankments and catch basins in the Marikina watershed; and an 8-kilometer dike and pumping station in the Camanava area. Camanava is short for the neighboring cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela.

Singson also reported that the P5.54-billion Phase II of the Pasig-Marikina River channel improvement project had been completed. The project covers the area from the Del Pan bridge and Lambingan bridge in the upper Pasig River to the Napindan hydraulic control facility in the upper Pasig River. Phase III of the project, which costs P7.54 billion, is now in progress.–Jerry E. Esplanada