Traffic expert backs podium parking at burnham

TRAFFIC expert Engr. Teodorico Tan who serves as technical consultant of the Traffic and Transportation Management Committee agrees that the city needs to put up parking facilities because without these, motorists are forced to “loiter around further congesting our national, city and barangay roads.”

“If the air we breathe is already polluted, the proposed parking building will not become a contributor to the pollution, but, rather one of the solutions to traffic congestion, that lessens air pollution. If we have adequate parking spaces, motorists have a place to park their cars. This will lessen the vehicles on the road and translate to a better environment,” he said.

“Some sectors say that it affects the aesthetics of the environment. But with the adoption of green architecture in today’s structures, won’t it be able to satisfy everybody? We need to balance our necessity and satisfaction for justified reasons,” he added.

Tan suggested that the multi-level podium be put up at the site of the former city auditorium as the area is now being used as parking for buses and other vehicles.

“The area is ideal as it is spacious and situated at the corner so any construction will not affect the aesthetics of the park. More importantly, there are no trees in the area that will be affected by the construction,” he said.

Tan said the government must create approximately 3,000 to 5,000 parking spaces to fill the void of parking needs of the city.

“Even if the construction of 600-plus parking spaces by a mall at Gov. Pack Road will be helpful to this problem, the same is not enough. The government and the private sector must compromise and find a middle ground to address the lingering problem on parking in the City of Baguio,” he said. – Aileen P. Refuerzo