Rama wants Tesda wall moved back

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he  wants to push through with the demolition of the concrete wall of the Technical Skills Education and Development Authority (Tesda) regional office along Salinas Drive in barangay Lahug.

During yesterday’s forum with media practitioners, Rama said the fence encroached on the road, leaving no space for pedestrians.

“I can have my city attorney issue a notice that the wall is a nuisance and I can have my city engineer take down the wall. There are a lot of accidents there like being sideswept, injured, because of that,” Rama said yesterday.

He also asked Joy Tumulak, Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) operations chief, to submit a report of the accidents that occurred in the area.

Cost
The mayor earlier voiced his concern on Tesda’s wall last July when he ordered the enforcement of a no-left turn policy in the Banilad-Talamban area.

Because of the mayor’s pronouncement, Tesda  Regional Director Rosanna Urdaneta agreed to have the fence set back, but she wanted City Hall to  shoulder the cost involved.

However, it was the Cebu District Engineering Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) that volunteered to shoulder the cost for setting back the fence.

Sought for comment, DPWH District Engineer Fernando Cruz said the project has yet to be bidded out.

Bidding for the P18-million sidewalk and drainage improvement on the portion of Salinas Drive at the side of Tesda is scheduled for November 17 or 18.

Cruz said they will develop a three-meter sidewalk from the road going inwards to the Tesda compound.  This will be located along the 200-300 meters along the Tesda’s wall.

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