0 The cure for EDSA traffic - what MMDA should do

It was built under the name North-South circumferential road then was changed to Avenida 19 de Junio after the Philippine Independence. Renamed again as Highway 54 and to what we know today as EDSA.

Surely the History of EDSA is one of the richest, but another thing that comes to our minds when we hear of it, is its equally famous and perpetual TRAFFIC!!!!!

Yes my friends, no matter how good you start your day, the heavy EDSA Traffic will never fail to ruin it. It's so hopeless that sometimes while stuck in traffic, looking outside the car window tears will suddenly fall from your left eye (left eye only) and you will realize all hope is lost in this god-forsaken road.

Before, there is only the morning rush hour traffic and the evening rush hour traffic. Now, we have merienda rush hour traffic, Lunch traffic, and twilight traffic. We have bad traffic 24 hours a day (I'm exaggerating, it's just 21 hours).

Being a daily commuter and spending more than enough time observing and reflecting, i have thought of possible solutions to help improve the traffic situation and prevent the daily chance of an MRT stampede.

Buses eating up all the precious EDSA space

Widen the roads - I don't care if you kill a few jollibees and mcdonald's here and there, just don't touch the malls please haha. Unlike other richer countries, majority of the Manila population depends on public transport instead of having their own cars. It is a fact though, that the roads we have here are not enough. 6 lanes per each direction is too small for the number of cars, buses, FX, jeeps, motorcycles and Kuligligs.

Cars becoming useless during heavy flooding

Get rid of the flood - it's already a common site to see parts of Manila being soaked in floodwater after a typhoon or a series of heavy rains. Flood is not just inconvenient and hazardous but it causes a hell lot of heavy traffic. If the authority will be able to clean up the roads, educate the people, come up with harsher punishments for improper garbage disposal, improve the floodgates (whatever they call it) then Manila will have less wet dreams and congested traffic during the waterworld season. If we can't get rid of the flooding, i suggest we start building arks.

Discipline the Drivers - *I think this one is more appropriate for the LTO rather than the MMDA. As told by my friend who recently took her driver's license, she said that "lagay system" is still very prevalent in the LTO office. It's the age-old system where applicants pay a certain fee to "fixers" so that they no longer need to undergo the long lines, exams and slow processing. I guess people would rather exchange a few hours of comfort for a life-long burden caused by undisciplined drivers with little or no actual road knowledge that even a simple "no loading' or "no U-turn" sign proves to be impossible to follow. Ansaveh??

LTO Fixers even have the guts to create an online account to advertise their services. The nerve.

Retire old vehicles - As far as i know, this is already being deliberated upon. They will be imposing a limited number of years to operate Public Utility Vehicles. I remember our Kapitbahay saying that japan has very light traffic because they have this policy of retiring vehicles after a certain period. And where do they throw it? To us of course! Well some of it maybe, remember when you see Japanese writings and signage on old buses along edsa? yup, those were the ones.

Vintage bus roaming metro manila

Transfer provincial Bus terminals elsewhere- there are numerous bus terminals located along EDSA. They don't just delay everybody else whenever they go in and out but most of the time they also transform EDSA into an extension of their terminals and parking spaces.

Cancel franchises of bus companies involved in serious accidents - *Wattup LTFRB. They're undisciplined and reckless. Getting rid of them means getting rid of a good number of excess vehicles in EDSA plus preventing future accidents. Cancel the franchise and make it permanent.

on the other hand 

Kudos to MMDA!!

Saying that EDSA is hopeless is now only an exaggeration and plain negative thinking. Although the traffic situation is not a 100 percent resolved, we can definitely see a huge improvement all thanks to Chairman Tolentino and the rest of MMDA.

Since Tolentino took the position of chairman, the MMDA has been implementing a lot of new road rules that although some motorists think of it as additional burden, these changes definitely have some positive long-term effects on traffic.

Recent EDSA changes:

1) New Schemes for buses - stricter rules when it comes to use of lanes, fly-overs, underpass and tunnels, higher fines for violators, and stricter bus stops. ( read more)

2) Bus Segregation Scheme - probably my favorite, this is where buses are now classified as either A, B or C and each with corresponding bus stops. This means less buses hanging around a certain stop and shorter travel time for buses with less stops.

3) Bike lane, Bike sharing system - It's a 1km bike lane and bike sharing system in Makati (Magallanes to Ayala Ave.) which aims to promote use of Bicycle as an alternative means of transportation. Yey for the bicycle enthusiasts! oh did i mention MMDA also provides bikes for the public's use free of charge and a 12-hour security personnel to watch over private-owned bikes that can now be conveniently deposited. Wow! (read more)

Well this only goes to show there is nothing but a brighter future for EDSA and hopefully the rest of Metro Manila in the near future.

We only need to remember that whether you are a motorist, a commuter or part of the "authority", We all need to do our share if we aim for development. AW YEAH. Tsup mwah


*image and info sources


flickr.com
bannersnacker.com
http://www.reuters.com
Sulit.com
http://bulatlat.com
MMDA 
topgear.com
abscbnnews.com
gmanews.com