A road safety advocacy group expressed Tuesday concerns over the plans by the Metro Manila Development Authority to push for a solution to fit in more cars to overcrowded Edsa.
“We doubt this ‘Road Diet’ scheme will solve traffic problem in Edsa,” Road Users Protection Advocates (RUPA) chairman Ray Junia said in a statement.
The group expressed fears, instead, this scheme would worsen traffic in the busy streets.
Rupa explained that “road diet” solution had always been in the roads for a long time now without it being officially recognized.
This happens at choke points along Edsa where official four-lane roads become five lanes with vehicles squeezing in and pushing each other for space, Junia said.
“This tight squeeze in jockeying for lanes by abusive drivers has caused most of road accidents that results in traffic buildup,” Junia added.
RUPA fears slimming down lanes in busy roads is a prescription for minor accidents that will cause massive traffic build up. Resolution of conflicts in traffic accidents takes time and causes the traffic buildup.
Junia said: “MMDA should look at the traffic problem as a space problem, an effect of high demand for space from insanely increasing numbers of cars sold in the market each year.
“The government should look at how to cut down the demand for space and enforce discipline in our roads, then surely sanity will return to our roads.”
According to RUPA, on the side of discipline, enforcement traffic rules is the solution. Enforcement, though, is a problem because we have enforcers are more interested in fast buck.
“But road diet? This one is surely not going to be sexy,” Junia said.