THE government still needs to make some adjustments in its number coding scheme after a slight improvement in the traffic situation was observed on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue during the scheme’s dry run activity.
“There is no magic formula that will make traffic disappear. It is just one of the many solutions that will have in place,” said Thomas Orbos, officer-in-charge of the Metro Manila Development Authority.
He said based on their initial assessment, the scheme’s trial activity which started last Wednesday reduced the travel time of motorists by at least three minutes on Edsa.
“To say that yesterday was a resounding success will be overstretched but if you look at numbers, 400 apprehended without violation tickets plus the fact that bumilis ang Edsa, which we are targeting five minutes, plus the many violations caught on CCTVs, I think this is good enough to reason to say we are at the right direction,” said Orbos.
Orbos said the Interagency Council of Traffic (I-ACT), the special team tasked to manage and control traffic in Metro Manila, still need adjustment to enforce the policy, particularly on Edsa, and among them was the opening of secondary streets linked to the 23.8-kilometer road.
“We have to clear illegal parking. We are willing to open more secondary roads to make it more passable,” he said.
The I-ACT is considering the areas of Connecticut, Boni Avenue, JP Rizal and Katipunan as among the alternate routes for private motorists.
The three-day dry run operation, which will last until today(Oct. 14), is in preparation for the full implementation of the Number Coding Scheme without the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. window hours from Oct. 17 to January next year in anticipation of monstrous traffic with the onset of the holiday season.
Under the revised number coding scheme, coded vehicles are not allowed to travel from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both lanes of Edsa from Monumento in Caloocan City to Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City; Circumferential Road-5 (C-5 Road) including Luzon Flyover going to and from South Luzon Expressway), Alabang- Zapote Road in Muntinlupa City, and all areas in cities of Mandaluyong, Las Piñas and Mandaluyong.
More than 400 vehicles, most of them coming from Ortigas Avenue in Mandaluying City, were flagged down and warned of the new scheme during the first day of the dry run activity.
On Thursday, I-ACT traffic enforcers were able to catch 309 drivers as of 2 p.m.
The authorities admitted that there are some confusion among drivers with regards to the new policy.
Members of the Metro Manila Council, which compose of the 17 mayors in the National Capital Region, agreed with the proposal to enforce the scheme, hoping that 20 percent of vehicles will be reduced on Edsa with the suspension of window hours.
With the new traffic measures being enforced by I-ACT, Orbos said the government still need the emergency powers to be given to President Rodrigo Duterte to solve the traffic situation in Metro Manila.
“Yes, because we are looking at long term solutions. There are all band aid solutions and we are studying this matter .. the MMDA and the Highway Patrol Group. We assess the situation in the long term,” he said.
