The opening of Sm Seaside City Cebu causes heavy traffic on the Cebu South Coastal Road. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Minor traffic changes introduced in SRP
Traffic was bumper to bumper on roads around and leading to the South Road Properties (SRP) as excited Cebuanos trooped to SM Seaside City Cebu, the biggest mall in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The traffic situation was so bad that some taxi drivers refused to transport passengers who wanted to go to the mall.
It also compelled the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) to implement minor traffic changes in the area.
Rafael Christopher L. Yap, CCTO head, said the unprecedented heavy traffic is just because people are curious about the mall, which was opened to the public yesterday.
He said they will continue to assess the situation in the area in the coming days.
“All roads leading to SM Seaside experienced heavy traffic. But it’s flowing. It doesn’t get stuck,” Yap told reporters yesterday.
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, traffic congestion was heavy along N. Bacalso Ave., near the corner of V. Rama Ave., along the Mambaling flyover, along the SRP viaduct and along Vestil St. or the Mambaling Access Road leading to the mall.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama welcomed the opening of the new mall, which he described as an “iconic, catalytic monument.”
“SM Seaside’s entry creates an impressive landscape for the City of Cebu and even the entire Cebu. And thus, we’ll continue to have more elements that will assure the continuing competitive level of the City of Cebu,” he told reporters yesterday.
Cebu City was awarded the Third Overall Most Competitive City by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) next to Manila and Makati.
In the infrastructure category, Cebu City ranked second next to Manila.
CONGESTION
Yap said the congestion on the roads leading to SM Seaside started as early as 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., or around an hour before its opening at 10 a.m. This continued until yesterday evening.
He said the congestion was caused by the number of private vehicles heading to the mall especially since SM’s MyBus is not yet fully operational. Only three units were issued a franchise by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
“We think it’s (congestion) only because of the opening. But we will assess in the coming days if this is going to be the new normal. This is what will happen if MyBus doesn’t get approved,” Yap said.
Yap said the number of vehicles on the road would lessen if a mass transport system serves the SRP.
CCTO operations chief Jonathan “Joy” Tumulak said they implemented a no-left turn for vehicles coming out of SM Seaside that want to go to the Mambaling flyover.
Tumulak said they also opened a service road across the University of Cebu Campus in Mambaling for vehicles coming from Cebu City that are bound for Talisay City without having to pass through the busy Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) near SM.
The mall has 5,000 parking slots, including basement parking and other designated spots. But only the basement parking was opened yesterday.
Tumulak said he didn’t know the capacity of the basement parking area.
But he said the basement parking area was full and some of the cars were parked outside the mall like in the area leading to the Calungsod Chapel.
No parking was allowed on the main roads to avoid worsening the traffic congestion.
AVOID
Since more people are expected to check out the new mall in the next few days, Tumulak said the public should avoid the roads near the new mall as much as possible.
“If you’re not planning on going to SM Seaside, just pass through N. Bacalso Ave. and not through the South Coastal Road,” he said.
At least 30 traffic personnel were deployed by CCTO to man traffic on roads leading to the mall.
CCTO executive director Rey Gealon said that while traffic was still manageable, despite the heavy volume, it was really slow-moving due to the sheer volume of vehicles coming in and out of SM City Seaside.
“Noticeable, it can be said that the number of vehicles may have tripled, if not quadrupled, compared to the usual number passing through these roads prior to SM opening,” he said, referring to the Vestil St. and the South Coastal Road.
Meanwhile, SRP manager Roberto “Bu” Varquez said there are ongoing projects in the SRP that will help alleviate the traffic concerns in the area.
He said there are U-turn lanes being constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) near the SRP Viaduct and under the bridge going to Talisay City, which are expected to be completed by next month.
“That will help decongest that area. Right now, if you come from Talisay, you turn left to Mambaling which will create traffic since the volume of the vehicles will go there,” he said.
Once the U-turn slots are completed, he said a no-left turn policy will be implemented along the South Coastal Road.
SM Seaside City is located within the 30-hectare SM Seaside Complex being developed by SM Prime Holdings, Inc. into a lifestyle city at the SRP. ( Read : SM ANCHORS FIRMLY IN CEBU )
SM Prime president Hans T. Sy said it’s the fourth biggest mall in the country, after SM Megamall, SM North Edsa and SM Mall of Asia.
Between 160 and 170 tenants opened yesterday at the mall while 60 others are expected to open in the next several weeks. The mall can house more than 400 tenants and is expected to employ up to 10,000 workers.