THE Metro Manila Development Authority has advised motorists and commuters to expect heavy traffic in the metropolis due to influx of shoppers and other holiday-related activities during the last two Fridays before Christmas Day.
Noemie Recio, head of the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center, said the agency would deploy more personnel to man the choke points on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue on December 16 and 23, the last Fridays before Christmas Day when heavy traffic conditions were expected.
“We will impose a no absent and no day-off policy,” said Recio.
The seven major choke points along Edsa are Balintawak Market Road, Aurora Boulevard, Ortigas Avenue, Shaw Boulevard, Guadalupe, Ayala Avenue and Taft Avenue.
Recio said traffic in the metropolis would remain heavy for the holidays, reaching a peak on those dates when people go last minute shopping and attend various events.
“A lot of people are going out. There are Christmas parties and reunions, and people from provinces are also going out to do shopping, attend events and visit friends and relatives in Metro Manila while those from Metro Manila will go to the provinces to spend the holiday there,” she said.
Traffic volume also rises to 20 percent between November and December, she added.
“We appeal to the people, if they don’t have important things to do on that day, it would be better for them to stay home. Be part of the solution, not of the problem,” Recio said.
Shopping malls and other commercial establishments along Edsa are traffic generators during the Christmas holidays, MMDA officials explained.
The agency urged the public to do their Christmas shopping early to avoid the holiday rush and the expected traffic jams especially around shopping malls and other commercial centers.
Shopping mall and other commercial center operators in Metro Manila recently agreed with the government’s proposal to schedule the delivery of their goods late in the evening until dawn to ease road congestion during the holiday season.
Delivery trucks and container vans loaded with goods, imported items and other saleable merchandise, which would fill up the streets of Metro Manila, the government agency claimed, would add to the worsening traffic during “ber months” – a reference to the months ending in “ber.”
The mall owners also agreed to the no conduct of sales and other crowd-drawing events during weekdays, and adjust their operating hours from the usual 10 am to 9 pm from 11 am to 11 pm beginning Nov. 1.