Traffic apocalypse
There is an ongoing "carmageddon" happening in Barangay Mambaling and nearby areas in the southern part of Cebu City that has drawn massive uproar from different sectors and ordinary people, especially the commuters.
Actually, the traffic apocalypse began in August last year when the Department of Public Works and Highways-7 started digging a portion of Natalio Bacalso Avenue for the P683-million underpass project.
Since the start of the construction, the southbound lane at the site was closed and traffic was rerouted to neighboring areas, congesting secondary streets in Punta Princesa, Quiot, and other barangays.
Now, as the project enters its fourth phase, it's the northbound lane that is now off-limits to motorists. For at least three months, heavy traffic will be experienced along smaller roads such as Tagunol Street, Caimito Street, and Ganciang Street, among others.
So serious is the situation in Mambaling that policemen are now being assigned to help traffic enforcers direct the flow of vehicles in the area. The anti-counter-flowing measure is also being strictly implemented to go after those who counterflow, which only worsens the situation.
City residents are not actually against the underpass project. What they are up in arms against is the horrendous traffic condition that it spawned considering the lack of preparation by the city traffic authorities.
Surely, the underpass project, once operational, will greatly be of big help in the effort to ease traffic flow in the south. The DPWH must have foreseen the underpass' usefulness, the fact that it decided to push through with the project.
The only problem is that it's the lack of planning on the part of the city that shoved many to criticize the project's implementation due to the horrible congestion it caused. It would have been better if the city had taken steps to widen the surrounding secondary roads so rerouting would have been smooth and orderly.
Now, it is no longer surprising if public sentiment against the project will continue to rise.