ALERT! POLITICIANS SET ON BUILDING MORE FLYOVERS
I just read this obscure ALARMING article in the local new from Sunstar Baguio, which I am reproducing in toto:
Public works office asked to turn over flyovers
BELIEVING that the City Government could better monitor traffic flow and the structural soundness of the city’s two flyovers, Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas said the administration of these flyovers should be turned over to the City Government.
The Magsaysay and the recently opened BGH flyover and Magsaysay structure are still under the administration of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
But Fariñas said “it would best serve the welfare of all motorists, if the DPWH would turn over the administration and regulation to the Baguio City Government for the reason that regulation of traffic originating from these flyovers must be in coordination with local traffic regulations.”
Comparing the DPWH and the Traffic Management Branch (TMB) of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO), Fariñas said the TMB could conduct regular traffic monitoring, enforce traffic rules and even beautify these structures.
The proposal to turn over the administration, however, is without prejudice to the DPWH should the agency plan to conduct periodic inspection, maintenance, repair and other civil works.
Also pending before the City Council is a proposal asking the DPWH to construct additional flyovers here, as a means to unclog streets of the heavy volume of vehicles (emphasis mine).
First Mayor Bautista asks and succeeds in getting the ownership of Burnham Park transfered to the local government. Now Vice-Mayor Farinas wants Domogan’s flyover. What gives here?
If the national government is so willing to spend for the maintenance of that white elephant, why is the city falling all over itself to spend more money on that structure?
Honestly, just because DPWH built it does not mean the city has no jurisdiction over traffic enforcement in the area.
Is Farinas saying the local government cannot coordinate with the national government?
Of course what is absolutely odious is the desire of these politicians to railroad the building of more flyovers ostensibly to address the city’s traffic problem.
Since these moves are not backed by studies of “How to Decongest Baguio City Streets,” but instead “Where Can We Build the Flyovers That We WANT so Badly?” I feel I must call everyone’s attention to this anomaly:
1. These gentlemen in City Hall are not urban planners
2. They have not hired the services of urban planners
3. They do not have any comprehensive plans on how to decongest Baguio City via:
- removing 4,000 illegal jeepney operators
- removing 3,000 illegal taxi operators
- rationalizing jeepney routes in Baguio City, using a north-south route, an east west route and a circumferential route.
- allowing all jeepneys to park in the Central Business District waiting to get filled with passengers.
4. Building a flyover will speed up traffic flow in one area and clog it in another, thus justifying another flyover in another area and the vicious cycle goes on.
As we have seen with the Domogan flyover, an area that was previously devoid of traffic congestion is now in fact congested.
It has also served to ruin the Baguio landscape
5. The traffic lights on jeepney-filled Harrison Road had been OFF for the past few months now, causing an unregulated flow of vehicles and pedestrians thus causing heavy traffic in the Central Business District. What’s the reason for turning off the stoplights here, may we ask?
6. Making Baguio City conducive to walking so Baguio residents are not FORCED to take motor vehicles in an effort to avoid the heavy pollution caused in certain areas by the same additional motor vehicles.
Gentlemen, why don’t you consider building us sidewalks instead? Maybe you can build a water reservoir with the money instead?
Gentlemen, these days, it is in vogue to blow the whistle on corrupt transactions …
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Added: 27 February 2008 10:52am
This is already my second post on this matter. The first one was BAUTISTA TO BUILD MORE FLYOVERS IN BAGUIO. It just keeps cropping up in the news. They are so SET on doing this and we must stop them.
When the northern country, Baguio included, was calling for Urdaneta City to be bypassed with a flyover, Urdaneta, knowing it would ruin businesses and clog up the areas below the flyover, WIDENED the roads instead.
Flyovers should be a last resort — only after all else has been tried. These gentlemen are not even trying!
END YOUR GREED
I don’t understand why local officials want to take hold of so much more when they can’t even manage the responsibilities for they already have. All you need to do is take a look at City Hall and you will see the negligence and poor maintenance.
It is like a couple who can hardly provide for their children but yet make more and more babies year after year.
As this high maintenance one-helluva-girl said…”Don’t even think of buying a Ferrari if you can’t afford to maintain it”.
I’m just joking. I know why they want it…
i just came from olongapo and i must say, the jeepney routing there is just great! they have i think 5-6 kinds of jeepney route only. and it’s color categorized. there’s white, brown, blue, and yellow. i do not recall the other colors. no heavy traffic at all. i think that is also because there are no taxis in gapo.
lisa, baguio has become a city of and for motor vehicles, and by motor heads. we adore so much our motor vehicles that we would be willing to have all our policies revolve around them. what have our city officials done lately to make the city more pedestrian friendly? none! they’ve just made an experiment (kuno) for a parking lot within burnham for six months. yes, six months, long enough for something unacceptable to “become” acceptable. for a lie to become truth. instead of discouraging the use of motor vehicles within the downtown area, they encourage them.
Mike we all know why they want it..? Even my 15 year old sister know why they want it.
Hi Mike,
most of them are in office for all the WRONG REASONS — not to serve, not to help, just to exercise power and make money.
Hiya, Lei,
Aha, you ‘got’ the jeepney rationalization part. Mismo! We don’t NEED 8-10 jeepney lines going the same direction per major road, di ba?
Plus 8,500 jeepneys coddled by Councilor Rocky Thomas Balisong, suspicious, di ba?
Plus 7,500 taxis coddled by Vice-Mayor Farinas, OVER, di ba?
For that is their formula to stay in power: Let’s add to the mess so we can make a bigger mess — Flyovers! That’s where the money is! Plus we add to the Baguio voting population so the rest of us can subsidize them as far as schooling and utilities are concerned.
For all the traveling the politicians do in this country, they never really do the ARAL part of the LAKBAY. Maybe they should call the junkets LAKBAY-SHOPPING.
Hello Resty,
As usual, your observations are so on the mark. Yup, for the politicians, motor vehicles are more important in the Baguio heirarchy than pedestrians. Kasi block votes and jeepney drivers and taxi drivers.
Honestly, and I hardly use this word: I ENVY Batanes for all the horseback riding they do. In Baguio I was so hoping to just WALK, and even that is hard now because of all the fumes.
Yup Dan,
How terrible is it that we know why but feel powerless to do anything about something so EVIL?
Halo, everyone! Has anyone tried the flyover at the Kisad-Marcos Highway-Kennon-Gov Pack Road and NOT COMPLAIN? To get on the flyover from Marcos Highway, you have to BRAKE because there are vehicles parked by the PMHA building and the lane to the right of the flyover is almost non-existent. And you’ll know you’ve HIT the flyover because there’s a bump that you feel. And then, while curving, there are tiny bumps. This flyover FEELS DIFFERENT. I’ve heard that its actually “sagged” 2 inches in the middle already from all the bus traffic that it carries. SCARY!!! And then the City wants to build more of these flyovers that may be sub-standard? SCARY!!!! And that the politicians will only milk the money that goes into building flyovers for their own pockets? SCARY!!!!! Heck, Fly Over … the moon-scary? Maybe, we need to do moon walking instead.
I agree with Lisa, the only way to decongest the traffic is to regulate the number of vehicles in the city. I think the officials need to do is sit down all together and think of a comprehesive plan and solution to current issues of the city not thinking about the profit for each officials will make. Bayan muna sana ang isipin. Ang sarap na nga ng mga buhay ninyong mga opisyal, yung mga mamamayan naman ang intindihin ninyo.
We do not need additional flyovers. These structures are not suited in our city. We do not have a wide land area to accomodate these flyovers. Leave this to the bigger and wider metro areas of the country. I’m pretty sure if the city really needs it, it could have been included in the planning long long time ago. I hope the city and government officials intention is not just as a decoration to make the city look good.
I remember when I was in the elementary grade, I attend to the green reforestation programs planting trees, and growing up, barangay cleaning by Kabataang Barangay(KB)of each local community. The old Alay Lakad to promote unity among the citizens. I guess the old Baguioenians are gone.
Hi Prudence,
Scary, sad, sucky, superfluous, strange, stupid.
Hello Ed,
Maybe we can have Sundays as ‘Bawal Sasakyan’ Day in Baguio. Detox once a week ba? Or to be more positive, Lakad Alay sa Kalikasan All Day (LAKAD pa rin na Taglish!)