Traffic

We received quite a number of letters from readers commenting on the topic of the last column. So while the iron is still hot, let’s strike with a few of them. Read on.

The traffic nightmare in Metro Manila will not just go away as long as different government instrumentalities do not get their act together. The House joint committees on Transportation and Metro Manila Development the other day approved a draft resolution urging the city of Manila to implement a three-month moratorium on the truck ban in…

The traffic nightmare in Metro Manila will not just go away as long as different government instrumentalities do not get their act together. The House joint committees on Transportation and Metro Manila Development the other day approved a draft resolution urging the city of Manila to implement a three-month moratorium on the truck ban in…

Today we begin another month in 2014. Last week’s piece on “School trafficking” which discussed the merits and demerits of a 4-day school week elicited several thought-full reactions. Apparently, we did not have to look outside of the country for an example. UP Biology Professor Augustus Mamaril cited the 4-day school scheme of the University…

To help alleviate the traffic build up that is expected as a result of major infrastructure projects such as the Skyway 3 and the NAIA expressway, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino has proposed the adoption of a four-day school week. Many were quick to shoot down the proposal. Officials of the Coordinating…

MANILA, Philippines – Private schools turned down yesterday the proposed four-day school week that was seen to help ease traffic congestion in the metropolis during the construction of major roads this year.

CONGESTION: The road network of the metropolis can be likened to the plumbing of a building and the circulatory system of the body. At some point and for various reasons, the flow of vehicles, of water and of blood could be impeded, causing traffic or flow problems of varying degrees and consequences.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

MANILA, Philippines – A business leader slammed the proposal to grant workers flexible work schedules or to mandate the change in business hours to help ease the heavy Metro Manila traffic.

MANILA – Businessmen scored the Aquino administration for being ill-prepared for the massive traffic jam triggered by two major Metro Manila infrastructure projects, construction for which began this week.

MANILA, Philippines—The prospect of hellish traffic jams in Metro Manila with two major road projects beginning simultaneously on Monday night has prompted a Quezon City lawmaker to revive his push for a four-day work week for government employees to help ease the anticipated gridlock.

Why only now? Today, the mobilization phase of the NLEX-SLEX Inter-Connector project begins in the heart of Metro Manila between Makati and the City of Manila. After 45 days or so, the actual construction work will begin in earnest. Motorists in Metro Manila have been told to brace themselves for what promises to be 2…

2 Metro mega-road projects under way MANILA, Philippines—Are you ready for some truly monstrous traffic jams and “bear with the short-term inconvenience,” as Malacañang pleaded Sunday?

MANILA, Philippines – Can you imagine your city with cars occupying only half of the roads, while all-weather bike lanes and sidewalks, bus rapid transit, and public trains have the other half?

MORE TRAFFIC PAIN BEFORE GAIN Up to 13 road and mass transport projects in the capital are in the pipeline in the next two years, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Wednesday as it advised motorists and commuters to brace themselves for continued heavy traffic on major routes till 2016.

These past two weeks, due to floods or bomb threats, many residents of Metro Manila were caught in monstrous traffic jams. Based on social media and radio reports, it is clear that citizens are reaching a breaking point. The anger is palpable, the blame laid squarely on the government and especially the Metro Manila Development…

Neda chief cites Jica study for dev’t road map P2.4-BILLION TRAFFIC Congested streets and traffic jams cost the country as much as P2.4 billion a day in lost productivity and potential income, according to a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Jica has been tapped by the government to come up with a transportation…

MANILA, Philippines — The notorious traffic on Metro Manila’s roads is not just a daily annoyance that millions of Filipinos have to live by. The country loses billions of dollars worth of human productivity, according to a transportation official.

ELEMENTS: Let us add a fourth element to the Three E’s discussed in our July 12 Postscript on restoring order and sanity to the 23.8-kilometer Epifanio delos Santos Avenue.

BRUISED VETERAN: As a taxpayer who drives on EDSA daily — and has been bumped and bruised a number of times — I claim vested rights to comment on how this 23.8-kilometer highway arching around the megacity is being mismanaged.

Last week was good for someone like me, who is both an academic and practitioner in the field of governance. It was a week of learning from experiences all over the world in the area of urban development and transportation. This was because of three visitors from the United States of America—Benjamin de la Peña…

THE Philippine government is losing $3.6 billion or P153 billion every year because of traffic congestion in Metro Manila, a lawmaker said on Friday. Citing a report by the San Francisco-based Filipinas Magazine, Rep. Homer Mercado of 1-Utak party-list said that $1 billion is lost to wasted gasoline, electricity, man-hours and hiring of traffic aides,…

There are many adjectives used to describe Metro Manila traffic. Sadly, “fast” and “efficient” are not among them. And in a sentence, words used to illustrate the mess usually comes with the complementary expletive.

Certainly, the MMDA scheme of strictly limiting vehicles plying EDSA on weekdays to only four days, and of introducing those ubiquitous U-turn slots, have had a positive effect on easing the traffic flow on this major transport artery. But these have not been enough.

MANILA, Philippines – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was an agency rocked by leadership changes that was caused by politics and the presidential polls last May.

We know Christmas is around the corner because there are a lot of things associated with the season that begin to manifest themselves around this time of the year such as those ubiquitous twinkling lights and lanterns. Sadly, no thanks to global warming, we haven’t been waking up to nippy mornings yet despite the fact…

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had conducted a stakeholder dialog with public/private utilities due to the alarming reports of inconvenience to pedestrians and motorists brought by irresponsible road diggings along major thoroughfares in Metro Manila.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Ralph Recto said yesterday any effort to decongest EDSA should be anchored on reducing the number of public utility buses (PUBs) plying the national thoroughfare.

Some time today, the Metro Manila Mayors league will be meeting to tackle among many things, the proposal of the MMDA to resurrect the full-blown vehicle reduction scheme along EDSA.

THE Metro Manila Development Authority said Wednesday it will propose expanding its vehicle reduction program on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue, the main artery traversing Metro Manila’s cities, to decongest it by 59,900 vehicles a day.