Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama stood pat on his order to adopt a no-left-turn policy to ease traffic in the 8-kilometer Banilad-Talamban (Ban-Tal) road, despite public grumbling over his snap decision on Monday.
Rama, who earlier described the traffic congestion there as a “disaster,” said he would issue an executive order.
“We will address concerns on road traffic congestion and road safety measures through an executive order that allocates U-turn slots, constructs flares on intersections, road widening, and establish no-left turn policies,” Rama said in his State of the City address yesterday.
Major intersections
The change was enforced on major intersections starting last Monday. On Tuesday he ordered the scheme used in all intersections, except those with traffic lights, starting from the corner of Gorordo Avenue all the way to barangay Talamban in the north.
Vehicles can make U-turns under the flyovers.
But motorists who wish to turn left to enter the University of San Carlos-Talamban Campus have to go all the way to Cabancalan in Mandaue City to get to the opposite lane. The long detour has drawn flak from m any motorists.
Sidewalk recovery
The mayor said he was “serious” about restoring sidewalks and getting rid of obstructions.
In response, officials of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) 7 agreed to move their concrete fence to give more space for the sidewalk along Salinas Drive in Lahug.
“We are willing to give way to the project of the Cebu City government to address the traffic situation in our area,” said Tesda 7 Regional Director Rosanna Urdaneta.
However, she asked that the cost of rebuilding the fence be shouldered by City Hall in line with an opinion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Audit (COA).
Pushed back
Rama earlier said the Tesda’s fence should be pushed back to improve traffic flow and safety of pedestrians who are forced to walk on the street.
Cebu City District Engineer Fernando Cruz of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 who earlier offered to pay for the demolition and rebuilding of the fence said he can start the paperwork for this with Tesda’s approval.
“We will be finalizing the plan and bid out the project. Within a month or two at the latest, we can start demolishing the fence and continue with it’s reconstruction,” Cruz said.
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