The government is planning to open more alternate routes next year to further decongest traffic along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, especially around Makati City and Quezon City.
This developed after the Metro Manila Development Authority and Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (I-ACT) formally opened a portion of Edsa near Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (formerly Buendia) for private and light vehicles, to be used as an alternate route for motorists going to Jupiter Street.
“Motorist can now use this and it is freely open anytime,” said Manny Gonzales, I-ACT deputy chief traffic officer. “This will help decongest traffic along Buendia Avenue.”
Gonzales said two private commercial areas in Makati City and three government facilities, one in Makati and two in Quezon City, will soon be opened for motorists as alternate routes for private vehicles wanting to avoid the congested Edsa.
However, he declined to name the areas to be opened, saying the MMDA and other concerned agencies and local government units are now studying the prospective traffic measures.
“Proper coordination is still ongoing, but once we are finished we will announce it to the media,” said Gonzales.
The MMDA recently opened three government facilities—Bonifacio Naval Station in Taguig City, the Veterans Memorial Medical Center and Camp Aguinaldo, both in Quezon City—to accommodate motorists coming to and from Makati, Taguig and neighboring cities.
MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos said I-ACT is finding ways to improve the traffic condition in the metropolis, particularly along the 23.8-kilometer Edsa highway that stretches from Monumento Circle in Caloocan City to President Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City.
The council is composed of the Department of Transportation, MMDA, Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group, Land Transportation Office, and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Orbos said I-ACT expects to reduce traffic density on Edsa by at least 200 vehicles per hour when these facilities and private areas are opened to vehicles.
“We are hoping all these measures would be able to alleviate the worsening traffic congestion,” Orbos said.