Practical solutions to our traffic’s urban crawl

Halloween is already over, but last weekend the night of the living dead—motorists who were alive but otherwise stuck in a slow-moving body of traffic—struck once again. While it’s true that there was a 10-car accident on C5 Friday, which exacerbated the situation, the specter of wasted time, fuel, and tempers rubbed raw is one that repeats itself on the roads of Metro Manila every single workday.

While the government has announced projects that promise some relief, they will be years away—if they prove to be at all. Building more roads and bridges is necessary, but they will make traffic faster if only motorists will properly use them. Recent projects like the Katipunan-C5 over/underpass have eliminated some traffic lights, but traffic still snarls around the exit points of the interchange. Inquirer Motoring suggests some practical solutions that can be immediately implemented, at negligible cost:

Clean up illegal parking. Vehicles park along major roads like Katipunan Avenue and C5 with impunity. Those along Katipunan are customers of restaurants that dot the area, while many along C5 bear the markings of Barangay Libis. If the local government does not clear out these vehicles, there’s little hope for faster flow of traffic in these areas. There should be a zero-tolerance policy and high fines for parking along major roads. Speaking of parking, establishments along roads like C5 may have parking slots in front of their buildings, but most are improperly laid out. Customers have to back out into the road, blocking one or two lanes of traffic. The layout should be changed to enable maneuvering outside of the main road, and easier for merging into traffic.

Discipline buses and jeepneys. Our so-called professional drivers are a major cause of traffic slowdown. Jeepneys stop for passengers anywhere they wish. Scores of them usually congregate on areas that become chokepoints—never mind that some of these spots may exactly be across U-turn slots, such as on Marcos Highway in front of Robinsons East. A possible solution would be to put vehicle stops along the highway and enforce their proper use. Again on Marcos Highway, the bridge has been widened to provide a jeepney loading area, but alas, these are seldom used. Just below the bridge, a transport depot has been built but remains empty. Instead, jeepneys congregate in front of the MRT station, and commuters queue on the highway itself, while MMDA officers look on haplessly.

Reevaluate the U-turn schemes. Scientific studies have shown that U-turns can be effective, so the scheme initiated by the previous MMDA chair is not without its merit. However, U-turns need to be properly designed and the road suitably widened. Also, too many U-turns are packed closely together, clogging up traffic even more. During peak volume hours, some U-turns can be closed so as to speed up traffic going in both directions, limiting them below the flyovers. Travel distance will increase on the average, but the all-important travel time will be lessened.

Rationalize the bus scheme. A poll conducted by inquirer.net had 85 percent of respondents agreeing that buses should be removed from Edsa. With the MRT in operation, there is little reason why 4000 buses should continue to ply Metro Manila’s major artery. Provincial bus terminals should be relocated to the northern and southern ends of the city. And bus routes with proper stops should ply intersecting roads to allow more commuters to travel via public transportation. Bid out the running of buses to private corporations, but with one or two companies running the entire network—just like water utilities are.

Implement strict inspection of motor vehicles. Trucks that seem more suited to the junk heap than carrying 25 tons of cargo while barreling down the road are a sure recipe for disaster. Failed brakes and broken steering have claimed many lives and caused countless traffic snarls, but still the lesson has never been learned. Annual safety inspection for trucks should be done systematically by trained inspectors, just like for used cars.

These solutions are not new, and many have been tried before—which may lead us to conclude that it is easier said than done. However, these schemes have to be enforced day in and day out and for years to become truly effective. The daily nightmare that is Metro Manila traffic may just be beaten back.