Bridge traffic mathematics

THE moment the announcement from the Department of Public Works came, it seemed to send anxiety among drivers and commuters, especially those who pass by the bridges going to and from the city of Mandaue and the island of Mactan. The long overdue repair of the first Mandaue-Mactan bridge gave travelers goosebumps with the news of the partial closure of lanes on the bridge that is expected to slow down traffic terribly.

True enough, the scenario that people were very wary about came into reality with traffic on the bridge nearly at a standstill. Many got stuck on the road and bridge for hours resulting into tardiness in school and work. Not even the presence of the other bridge, the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, help eased traffic between Mandaue and Mactan as it also suffered turtle-paced traffic, if not momentary absence of vehicular movement. The barrage of social media posts about the traffic situation just hours after the implementation of the lane closures in the first bridge was overwhelming.

The construction of a third bridge connecting Mandaue and Mactan is envisioned to lighten up traffic in the two bridges but it has not yet started. Thus, other solutions to somehow take small bits of stress off drivers and commuters have to be made.

Just like a mathematics problem, how about solving it with numbers? Last month, the Lapu Lapu City Traffic Management System proposed a number coding system for vehicles passing through the two bridges. The concept is clearly inspired by the one used in Manila where heavy traffic is also a problem on its main thoroughfares. In this scheme, vehicles bearing the last two digits specified in the system would be barred from entering Lapu Lapu City. This aimed at limiting the number of vehicles using the bridges. However, the number coding would only apply to private vehicles since the traffic body noted that they compose majority of the traffic volume using the bridges. So, what do some Weekend readers think about this proposal?