Heavy congestion greeted travellers who passed by United Nations Avenue in Mandaue City this morning, September 23. | Rosalie O. Abatayo
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – It took truck driver Juanito Cutamora almost an hour to travel the three kilometer distance from Barangay Tayud, Consolacion town to the intersection of the United Nations (UN) Avenue in Mandaue City.
Cutamora, 48, blamed the implementation of a new traffic scheme at the intersection of UN Avenue and D.M. Cortes Street for the delay.
On ordinary days, he would drive his 10-wheeler truck from Tayud, Consolacion to UN Avenue in less than 30 minutes.
Read More: New UN Avenue traffic scheme confuse motorists
As early as 7 a.m., heavy traffic buildup was already experienced in Mandaue City’s northern corridor. Congestion problems also affected nearby roads like M.C. Briones Street (the national highway), P. Burgos Street and even the Marcelo Fernan Bridge.
“Wala mi kahibalo nga dili na diay makatabok diha sa UN Avenue deretso Plaridel. Abi nako naa lang aksidente. Pero kon adto mi paagi-on sa hi-way mosamot mi kalangan didto,” said Cutamora.
(I was not aware that we will no longer be allowed to cross UN Avenue to Plaridel (now D.M. Cortes Street). I was under the impression that a vehicular accident in the area was causing the traffic buildup. If they will redirect us to the national highway (M.C. Briones Street) traffic buildup is heavier in the area.)
Motorists coming from the Cansaga Bridge were no longer allowed to cross United Nations Avenue on their way to D. M. Cortes Street.| Rosalie O. Abatayo
Dongfree Gesulga, a businessman and a resident of Barangay Tayud , Consolacion, said that while he already heard of the implementation of a new traffic scheme at the intersection of UN Avenue and D.M. Cortes Street, he was unable to anticipate the congestion that this would create.
If the congestion problem is not addressed, Gesulga expressed worry that heavy traffic volume in the area may affect the stability of the Cansaga Bay bridge that connects Mandaue City and Consolacion town.
Private vehicles including trucks are stuck on the bridge because of the slow moving traffic in the area.
Joseph Montolo of barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City said that he will already leave home earlier than usual starting on Tuesday, September 24, to avoid from being late for his classes in a Cebu City university.
Montolo, 18, said that the new traffic scheme almost doubled his travel time.
Traffic in the area was manageable on Sunday, the first day of implementation of the new traffic scheme. But heavy buildup was experienced this morning as workers and students headed for their workplaces and school.
Mario Gako, operations chief of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM), told CDN Digital in a phone interview that congestion problems cannot be avoided during the first few days of implementation of the new traffic scheme.
“Amo lang una ni obserbahan kay wa pa man kahibalo ang uban driver aning bag-ong traffic scheme. Basin sa mosunod nga mga adlaw maka-adjust na sila ug mahimo ra nga normal ang flow dinhi sa UN Avenue,” said Gako.
(We will continue to observe the outcome of the new scheme because maybe some of the drivers remain aware of its implementation. We expect them to already make adjustments in the coming days that would hopefully normalize traffic flow along UN Avenue.) / dcb