The Green Loop experiment last Sunday was a loud political statement that Cebu City’s transportation system needs a fundamental overhaul.
Democratizing the use of the road is an idea that may have come of age but still, there is a need to capture the public’s imagination that something is wrong when 99 percent of the people, those who do not own cars, do not have full access to public roads while the remaining one percent lords over it.
The toiling masses are left in smoke-belching jeepneys, habal-habal motorbikes and taxis, spending extended time on the roads day-in and day-out. In mainstream awareness, roads are for motor vehicles.
One can walk or bike, but sadly, our roads, without proper markings or lanes, are too dangerous for pedestrians and bikers.
The Green Loop concept converted parts of four man roads in Cebu City for mixed use for four hours on a Sunday.
Credit should be given to the Cebu city government for allowing the exercise, especially the City Traffic Operations Management. For advocates, the time has come.
But just as the commendable exercise was ongoing, many motorists and commuters were grumbling, surprised to be stuck in traffic on a Sunday afternoon.
Aggravating the situation was the sight of people leisurely walking, biking, skating and skateboarding.
Organizers expected birth pains.
The experiment highlighted the city’s dilemma with urban growth. The roads just aren’t wide enough, or have enough lanes to cope with the explosion of vehicles whose numbers increase every year.
Not just private cars, but public transportation units are not properly served in the existing system. More importantly, the needs of 800,000 city residents are not served by the road network.
Commuters have few choices for safe, efficient travel.
Moving forward, it’s time to refocus on a more efficient solution of moving people from point A to B.
We need a radical change tempered with pragmatism.
The World Bank’s approval of a $141 million loan package for the Bus Rapid Transit comes at the right time. If we can’t dig below for subways or add flyovers because these massive overpasses no longer help traffic, we can galvanize the support of all stakeholders to make a bus-based system, running on a dedicated route using fuel-efficient, large-capacity buses, succeed.
In a climate changing world, we need to reduce dependence on gas-guzzling, global warming motor vehicles. We also can’t expect residents of the second biggest metropolis in the country to turn into pedestrians and bikers overnight.
With time and resources limited, we have to place our bets on doable solutions.
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