A street view photo of a portion of South Road Properties (SRP) in June 2023. Courtesy of Google Maps.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A councilor in Cebu City wants the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) to relocate the loading and unloading area of mini buses and jeepneys that operate outside the city.
Councilor Rey Gealon has filed a resolution on Friday, October 27, requesting the CCTO to relocate the loading and unloading area of the public utility vehicles (PUVs) to the South Road Properties (SRP).
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Cebu South Bus Terminal
The former location of ths loading and unloading area was at the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT).
Gealon said he filed this proposed measure to decongest the city’s main thoroughfares.
“[Sa] South Bus Terminal sila. Maong huot kaayo,” Gealon told CDN Digital on Sunday, October 29.
(They are at South Bus Terminal. That is why it is so congested there.)
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Move to decongest traffic in Cebu City
Gealon said in his resolution that the SRP’s 300-hectare reclamation area would be vital when it would come to accessibility whether heading south or north, and that the SRP would be a convenient route.
“The loading and unloading of mini buses and modern jeepney passengers in areas around the city and at the South Road Properties can cause traffic and inconvenience to the other road users,” Gealon said in his proposed resolution.
Gealon, who also chairs the Traffic Management Committee (TMC) Board, said that the TMC had already approved a similar resolution on the matter during their last meeting.
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Similar TMC resolution
The councilor clarified that the TMC Resolution would be for the department to heed to the policy set by the TMC, while the Sangguniang Panglungsod (SP) Resolution would be an expression of the will of the entire constituency, through their representatives like his peers in the council.
The SP Resolution, according to him, is also for information and guidance, with the intention that the constituents will be informed such that they would abide by it, especially for passengers who cannot be covered by a policy-making body of a department like CCTO.
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Test run eyed
Gealon said that the CCTO would have a test run after informing the operators, drivers and passengers of those routes that would be affected by the policy.
The TMC chief said that the test run would take place after “Kalag-Kalag” but there was no specific date set as of press time.
He said on Sunday, October 29, that before the test run, they would have due process by informing the operators and drivers.
“The office has been looking for an alternative area near SM Seaside, upon the directive of the Mayor, which would still be conducive for passengers who need to transfer to a city-bound public utility vehicle,” said Gealon.
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Traffic management plan for malls
Besides the relocation at the SRP, Gealon also filed another resolution which aimed to address the traffic in the city.
Gealon is requesting the CCTO to require shopping malls to submit traffic management plans for their events like mall-wide sales, which usually occur on weekends.
“The advent of numerous holidays, malls often have mall-wide sales and other holiday-themed events to entice mall-goers,” Gealon said.
Mall-wide sales
He added that during mall-wide sales and such other events, traffic would often be a problem, and this would cause inconvenience to other road users.
According to Gealon, a traffic management plan involves planning and controlling the movement of people and goods within an area which includes stationary moving traffic, pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles.
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