Cebu City dad to groups: Let’s discuss speed limit amendments

Cebu City Councilor Raymond Garcia says that the City Council is planning to finalize the 93-1 land swap agreement by October this year. | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Raymond Garcia is seeking a discussion with a cycling group that seeks to amend the newly signed speed limit ordinance of the city to come up with a more agreeable ordinance.

Cebuano sportsman Voltaire Montebon and his group, VDM Sports, seek to further reduce the speed limit of vehicles in Cebu City streets to 30 kilometers per hour for safety reasons.

READ: Sportsman pushes for reduction of speed limit in Cebu City

The recently approved speed limit is at 80 kilometers per hour (kph) for national primary roads, 70 kph for national secondary roads, 50 kph for national tertiary roads, 40 kph for provincial roads, and 20 kph for barangay roads.

The speed limits for trucks, buses, and larger vehicles are maintained at 50 kph for open roads, 30 kph for thorough streets, and 20 kph for crowded streets.

The City Council passed the ordinance in April 2021 and was subsequently signed by Mayor Edgardo Labella.

READ: Speed limit set for Cebu City streets

Garcia lamented how the cycling groups remained silent during the formulation of the ordinance when a public hearing was conducted.

Still, he said he is inviting the group to discuss with him any changes to the current speed limit so he can file an amendment if necessary.

“Actually we based that on the speed limit of the LTO (Land Transportation Office). We just followed their recommendation. Now, if they want to change it, then we can discuss the merit of theur proposal,” said Garcia.

He added that the city government will always be ready to listen to the concerns of the stakeholders and make changes on road policies if deemed best for the safety of motorists, commuters, pedestrians, and cyclists.

Garcia is confident that if the dialogues are completed, an agreement will be made on the best policy for the speed limit in the streets in Cebu City that would keep everyone safe.

“Maybe we will choose some streets where we will reduce the speed limit but making the ordinance, it is broad. We specified national road, city road, barangay road, ingun-ana man gud. Maybe this time, we will have specific roads wherein we can reduce the speed limit,” he said.

The councilor said his office is open for discussion with the group anytime to settle the issues on the speed limit.

/bmjo