All chokepoints to be manned by traffic guides, says Mayor Rama. ‘No ifs or buts’ in obeying rules
With holiday traffic jams, which Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama called a “crisis”, several experiments are being tried in city roads.
On peak hours, most intersections with traffic lights flash yellow and rely instead on human traffic enforcers to guide vehicles.
Yesterday, the mayor told the staff of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) to excuse no one from disobeying even the simplest traffic rules especially illegal parking.
“All roads, especially major roads should be passable and should not add to traffic congestion. Illegally parked vehicles should be removed and towed. There are no ifs and buts if people are illegally parking,” Rama said.
Since Monday, he’s been telling them there will be “no holiday” for Citom personnel and traffic enforcers.
“There is no justification if nobody is there in the intersections. All intersections without traffic lights and identified as choke points have to be with manned with personnel,” Rama said.
Along Salinas Drive outside the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, metal railings were installed in the middle of the road this week. This will restrict the sometimes chaotic flow of vehicles, that freely make turns on the road, one of the heaviest congested sites.
Earlier, the mayor got Citom staff to “agree” to render an extra hour of service every day without overtime pay. Parking aides will be pulled out to help man the roads, as needed.
In return, the mayor promised to give at least one sack of rice to each staff member who is implementing these stretch roles.
Commuters from all walks of life have been complaining about heavy traffic congestion, that has made a 30-minute travel within the city stretch to two hours at peak time.
The agony on the road is expected to continue to January when the Sinulog festival adds more visitors and vehicles on the road.
He said that he also wants all parking bays that contribute to traffic to removed.
Rama addressed over 500 Citom personnel in an early morning meeting with the new Citom executive director Victor Caindic.
In response, Caindec said Citom will be very strict with enforcing traffic rules.
“Our request to the public is, let’s not be stubborn. If you see solid yellow lines on the road, that means you can’t make a ‘U-turn’ or a left turn there whether or not there is a directional sign there,” he said.
The new railings on Salinas Drive are an experiment in road discipline.
“We have to be practical for now until people are educated and until they know the flow. This has always been a no-left turn area. If you come from Salinas Drive, you can’t turn left to I.T. Park. From Waterfront Hotel you can’t (cross the road) and go straight to I.T. Park,” said Caindic.
Before his appointment as Citom executive director, Caindec served as a private sector member of the Citom board for about two years. The businessman is engaged in providing lights and sounds equipment and services for events.
As part of a recent experiment, most of the intersections with signal lights, are blinking “yellow” and no longer relying on traffic lights for “go” and “stop” during peak hours.
These junctions are manned by Citom personnel to guide traffic.
Of the more than 30 signalized intersections in the city, 23 areas follow this setup during peak hours from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 5 to 8 in the evening.
The computerized traffic signal system, installed in the 1990s, can no longer be upgraded and needs replacement.
The programmed time for signal lights can’t adjust promptly to the changing volume of traffic in the intersections, said Citom operations chief Joy Tumulak.
He earlier said they’ve started several traffic experiments like blinking traffic lights.
He asked the public to give feedback.
If people see traffic enforcers not performing their jobs well, he said they can take photos and post them in the official Facebook page of Citom for proper investigation.
His brother Councilor Dave Tumulak, who heads the city’s command control center, was tasked to monitor real time traffic flow in the city through the closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs).
Last Monday, Rama announced that as mayor he would take a “hands on role” in Citom because of “horrible traffic” that has intensified with the Christmas holiday and coming Sinulog.
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