Cebu to upgrade defaced, stolen street signs

CEBU CITY –Larry Fernandez has been driving the streets of the city for 35 years since, but his worry remains the same – defaced or stolen road signs.

Fernandez , 53, said some of the signs had been spraypainted, covered with stickers and that others no longer fit the road’s current condition where they were placed, rendering them useless to motorists.

“I noticed that some areas really don’t have proper signage but I cannot enumerate where the signs are. I’ve lost count,” he said in a jest.

The signs are meant to help prevent road accidents, so Fernandez said “there will really be chaos if the problem persists and never given the proper attention.”

But the end to Fernandez’s woes could be just ahead. The Cebu City Council has approved separate resolutions of Councilors Joel Garganera and Jocelyn Pesquera to install proper road signs.

The council has also asked the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) and the Department of Public Services to check, clean, and if necessary, replace worn-out signs.

Garganera considers traffic signs as “critical elements of the streets because they communicate the rules, warnings, guidance, and other highway information that drivers need to safely and efficiently navigate roads and streets.”

If traffic signs be maintained properly, motorists will be encouraged to observe and follow road rules, he added.

Pesquera, on the other hand, said “the importance of clear and visible street names cannot be overemphasized in helping drivers and commuters reach their destinations” and that “inconspicuous” devices could pose inconvenience to those people who might be new to the city or unfamiliar with its streets.

She said among the areas the street name sign needs to be replaced is the post on M.J Cuenco Avenue corner Pope John Paul II in Barangay Mabolo.

In a separate interview, CCTO Operations Chief Francisco Ouano backed the council’s move to upgrade street signs, saying he could not remember the last time the signs were fixed.

In 2013 the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported that a total of 42, 558 road signs have been stolen or vandalized throughout the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in its 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, said 1.25 million die in road crashes around the world yearly.

In the country, 53 percent are those riding two to three-wheeler motored vehicles and the WHO also estimated more than 10,000 people in the Philippines died in road crashes in 2013.