The Metro Manila Development Authority said it plans to decongest traffic on the roads used by motorists going to and from Ayala Avenue in Makati City and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.
The MMDA will conduct on Saturday a dry-run operation of the new traffic management plan to be implemented along Mckinley Road aimed to further ease traffic along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.
MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos said his agency will convert the Edsa-Mckinley service road into two-way access road which will allow public utility jeepneys bound for Makati Business District and Bonifacio Global City to pick up passengers in the area while private motorists can use the other lane to bypass the service road intersection.
“We will open the service road to private vehicles coming from Mckinley, allowing them to turn right to get to Edsa-northbound. Private vehicles on Edsa-northbound going to BGC will also be allowed to use the Mckinley access road,” he said.
Under the new traffic management plan, MMDA enforcers will only allow three PUJs at a time at the loading bay on the side of Shell gas station to pick up passengers.
All PUJs will unload passengers at the BGC bus terminal where drivers will wait for their turn to queue at the loading bay. Around 120 PUJs operating in the area will be affected by the new traffic measure.
At present, the access road is only used by PUJs as loading bay.
MMDA-Traffic Engineering Center officials requested the management of both the Ayala and BGC business districts to let their traffic personnel undergo training and be deputized by the agency to maintain the flow of traffic in the area.
TEC personnel have already put markings and directional signs on the access road in preparation for the test run on Saturday.
Orbos thanked the Ayala group, which owns the private access road, for their cooperation and support in solving the traffic problem in the area.
“I am also thankful to the jeepney operators and drivers who readily agreed to this scheme,” he said.
The MMDA came out with the rerouting scheme to address the heavy traffic build-up on the EDSA-Mckinley intersection during rush hours.
Last Monday, the MMDA started regulating the route of PUJs in Guadalupe district in Makati City going to Pateros, Taft Avenue in Manila and Fort Bonifacio to ease the burden of motorists experiencing heavy traffic in the area.