City eyes closing portion of N. Bacalso Avenue

The Cebu City Transportation Office plans to close a portion of N. Bacalso Ave., from corner F. Llamas St. to Mambaling flyover, to private cars during peak hours to address the traffic congestion in the area.

This was revealed by CCTO operation's chief Francisco "Isko" Ouano to The FREEMAN yesterday.

He said he came up with the idea after he received numerous complaints through text messages from commuters, drivers and motorists on the traffic condition in the Mambaling area.

With this, Ouano feels he needs to immediately address their concerns.

After a thorough observation, he believes the volume of private cars using the area contributed to the heavy traffic.

The public started experiencing heavy traffic in the Barangay Mambaling area after WT Construction Inc., the contractor of P 638-million underpass project along N. Bacalso Avenue and F. Llamas Street, proceeded with the phase 1 of the project last November 13 opening only one north-bound lane.

Last week, Ouano initially discussed the proposal with Mayor Tomas Osmeña via phone call and got an initial approval.

He will formally present his proposal before Osmeña in a week after CCTO planning department can finalize the plan.

Once it is implemented, private cars are banned to pass from 7 a. m to 10 a. m and from 4 p. m to 8 p. m.

Ouano is asking private car owners to bear with the inconvenience the temporary ban will cause them.

"Actually, they have other route options but they prefer the main road hoping to get to their destination faster. Sometimes we have to sacrifice for the benefit of city, " he said.

In a separate interview, Osmeña confirms that he was in favor of Ouano's proposal.

"Yes, we will be giving one week for private owners to adjust, "he told The FREEMAN.

Osmeña said that December 4, Monday, is the tentative schedule for the implementation of the ban.