ENDANGERED. Pedestrian walk precariously close to traffic infront of Tesda compound in Salinas Drive, barangay Lahug as the fence of the government agency eats up the space that was supposed to be used as a sidewalk. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama wants the fence of the regional office of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) in barangay Lahug moved back to make way for a pedestrian sidewalk.
This was among his observations after he personally walked the stretch from Gorordo Avenue to Archbishop Reyes Avenue and Gov. M Cuenco Avenue.
The mayor said the fence of Tesda should be moved farther from the road. Rama made the utility pole which was inside the fence as a reference point as to why the fence must be moved back. He said the utility pole should have been outside the Tesda enclosure.
He wants these improvement done in time for the coming Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (Apec) meetings next year and the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in 2016.
Together with representatives from the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), and Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (Probe), Rama personally observed the traffic after he ordered ‘No Left Turn’ for all vehicles passing the Banilad to Talamban road.
“At first, it was just a few major intersections. But now, the no left turn policy will be applied to all intersections in the entire road stretch,” Rama said.
With the ‘No Left Turn’ policy, vehicles will have to look for the nearest flyover to make a U-Turn to get to the other side.
Obstructions
During his walk, the Probe Team also demolished and confiscated obstructions which narrowed the sidewalks.
“Our order is really to restore the sidewalk. We will be invading that area side by side with Citom which is monitoring the traffic flow,” said Probe chief Raquel Arce.
The Probe also identified more than 50 permanent structures invading the sidewalk that are up for demolition.