(Part 2)
Obstacles on the road like road dividers, markers, and signages should be conspicuous and visible to motorists at all times. Motorists who can see the road clearly are able to finish their trips without much delay. Again, this means less vehicles on the road, and thus less traffic jams.
The Metro Manila Development Authority under Francis Tolentino and Emerson Carlos allowed many road hazards to stay along Edsa. Fortunately for the two, nobody has sued them for their failure to make the roadways safe.
Having emphasized the foregoing postulates, a detailed discussion of more specific causes of the traffic mess is in order.
Motorcycles must stay on one lane along Edsa and major roadways, and motorcycle drivers must comply with traffic regulations.
At intersections where traffic grinds to a halt due to a traffic light or a traffic enforcer directing traffic, motorcycle drivers often overtake the stationary vehicles and move to the front of the line, even if they end up blocking the pedestrian lane. Their blatant disregard for the pedestrian lane forces pedestrians to make diversions, thus adding to the traffic mess.
Motorcycle drivers often create an illegal counterflow. This narrows the opposite side of the road which, in turn, delays the flow of traffic there.
Many motorcycle drivers disregard traffic lights, and even some traffic cops, and move on as if they are exempted from traffic regulations.
The solution to this blantant disregard of traffic rules is to impose heavy fines on the violators, and to impound the motorcycles of rescidivists.
Inconsiderate motorcycle drivers, and there are many of them, block the three or four lanes along each side of Edsa in such a way that they impede the smooth flow of vehicular traffic behind them. They are also infamous for making sudden turns when traffic is relatively heavy, and with no regard for other vehicles.
The solution to this nuisance is to require motorcycles to stay on one lane along Edsa and major roads. Ex-MMDA Chairman Tolentino once created motorcycle lanes on Edsa and Commonwealth Avenue, but discontinued them in 2015 when he focused on his anticipated campaign for the Senate.
Tricycles, pedicabs, and bicycles should not be allowed on major roads.
Almost all tricycle drivers are as notorious as motorcycle drivers. Tricycle drivers take their sweet time on the road, without any regard if they are occuping the middle of the road and thus blocking the way of other vehicles. Pedicab drivers are just as problematic. Their pedicabs are slower than their motorized counterparts.
Bicycle drivers travelling along major streets are the worst. Because they do not drive a motor vehicle, they do not consider themselves motorists. On that mistaken premise, bicycle drivers do not observe traffic rules.
Tricycles, pedicabs, and bicycles are not usually visible along Edsa, but they are readily seen in many major roads connected to Edsa. Since these troublesome vehicles block many roads which provide an exit from Edsa, they contribute to the needless accumulation of vehicles in Edsa.
Take for instance the numerous pedicabs along the side road of the northbound lane of Quezon Avenue near the corner of Edsa. They travel towards the opposite direction of the traffic flow, and they occupy one of the two available lanes. The obstacle they create causes the accumulation of vehicles in the area, particularly at the corner near the Edsa-Quezon Avenue flyover. This becomes a chokepoint for vehicles from the southbound lane of Edsa making a left turn towards Quezon Avenue under the flyover.
An MMDA road station nearby pays no attention to the problem.
Public utility buses along Edsa should stay in their proper place. Their drivers are notorious for blocking the way of other vehicles on Edsa, and for bullying smaller vehicles. They blow their loud horns as if they were ocean liners announcing their presence.
These buses deliberately occupy more than one lane whenever they negotiate a flyover. By virtually occupying two lanes, these buses limit the available road space to other vehicles and this obstructs the smooth flow of traffic along Edsa.
Many of these buses belch thick smoke, thus forcing the vehicles behind them to keep their distance or to move to other lanes. Again, this limits the available road space and creates a traffic nightmare.
Motorists using Edsa will attest that on many occasions, these buses can be found on the inner and middle lanes of Edsa, areas where they do not belong to in the first place.
The operations of taxicabs and similar on-line utility cars along Edsa should be subject to restrictions. Their drivers pick up passengers anywhere they please. They do not obey traffic signals, unless there are visible traffic enforcers in the vicinity.
Like jeepney drivers, many taxicab drivers convert intersections along Edsa and other major streets as their taxi stands.
Pedestrians have their share of the fault in the traffic mess. Many pedestrians are too lazy to use pedestrian overpasses and insist on crossing both lanes of Edsa at both prohibited segments like the one between the GMA-Channel 7 complex and Quezon Avenue, and the one between Philamlife Homes and the SM mall on North Avenue. Heavy penalties should be imposed on them.
Traffic flows very slowly at the four corners of the intersection of Edsa and Shaw Boulevard because pedestrians occupy a chunk of the road to wait for buses. They also cross the street in disregard of traffic signals.
Of course, the MRT train system, ignored by the Aquino administration, must be rehabilitated. If the MRT trains are safely and efficiently operated, there will less people using Edsa.
The solution to the traffic problem plaguing Metropolitan Manila is efficient management, not the imposition of additional restrictions on private motorists. The government must be reminded that since private vehicle owners pay a mandatory road-users tax, they have a right to challenge in court any unreasonable restriction on their use of Edsa and other major roads in the metropolis.