THE government will start tomorrow its dry run for the suspension of window hours for private vehicles traversing Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and Circumferential Road-5.
The Interagency Council on Traffic will conduct the three-day dry run in preparation for the full implementation of the number coding scheme without the “window hour” on Edsa and C-5 Road beginning Oct. 17.
“Suspension of window hours for coded private vehicles will be implemented starting Oct. 17. Dry run on Wednesday to Friday,” the I-ACT stated in its advisory.
Metro Manila Council members, led by its traffic committee chairman Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, agreed to remove the window hours for the private vehicles traversing Edsa and C-5 Road to ease traffic in the metropolis.
The MMC is the policy-making body of the Metro Manila Development Authority which estimates that 20 percent of vehicles will be reduced on Edsa with the suspension of window hours. It also stated that 20 percent is equivalent to one lane.
The window hours refer to the five-hour period when motorists covered by the Number Coding Scheme may still pass through Edsa and C-5 Road without being apprehended.
That period is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but removing the window hours means the vehicles covered by the Number Coding Scheme may not pass through Edsa or C-5 Road from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The I-ACT will also resume the clearing operations of illegally parked vehicles along the 17 Mabuhay Lanes, the designated routes for private motorists avoiding the congested Edsa.
“Clearing of illegally parked vehicles along Mabuhay Lanes will be prioritized to ensure that secondary roads can accommodate coded vehicles,” the council said.
The 17 Mabuhay Lanes are alternative routes to the 23.8-kilometer Edsa. These cover the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan, Makati, Manila, and Quezon City.
The lanes include secondary roads going to shopping destinations in Metro Manila such as Baclaran in Parañaque, Greenhills in San Juan, Divisoria and Carriedo in Manila.
The government has so far apprehended more than 5,000 illegally parked vehicles in Metro Manila since July.
Lawmakers earlier urged the government to remove the window hours to ease the traffic in Metro Manila.
MMDA officials admit the increasing number of private vehicles is the major cause of the traffic jams along Edsa, saying more than 6,800 vehicles are using Edsa per hour in one direction higher than the artery’s capacity of 6,000 vehicles per hour.
The gridlock on Edsa remains despite the Number Coding Scheme that bans vehicles on the artery one day a week depending on the last digit on their license plates.
The MMDA says about 6,000 cars are sold in the country each month, and 90 percent of the vehicles using Edsa are private.