Commonwealth Ave. may be the next EDSA, LTFRB exec warns

Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City may face the same fate as chronically trafficplagued Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) board member Ariel Inton Jr. warned yesterday.

“We have to act now before it’s too late,” he stressed, after several businessmen and netizens complained about the government’s botched efforts in addressing the growing traffic woes.

Inton welcomed the appointment of Secretary Almendras as traffic czar, since it showed that the government is serious in addressing the Metro Manila traffic crisis.

He, however, noted that making the appointment will not provide a lasting and permanent solution to ease traffic in the metropolis.

He recalled that while he was still a member of the Quezon City council, he was sent by then Mayor Feliciano Belmonte to attend a United Nations’ conference on urbanization of the fifteen best managed cities in the world.

Conference participants came to the conclusion that by 2050, around half of the world’s population will be living in big cities.

Hence, Inton strongly urged that policy makers visit the particular UN study. He said that this will help frame up a long-range plan on traffic not only in Metro Manila but also in other big cities of the country.

At the same time, Inton earlier made a proposal on how to address the traffic crisis in EDSA by adopting a two-day coding system or regulating the time of travel of both public and private vehicles.

“I have proposed in my private capacity a solution to the traffic mess in EDSA but it was shot down,” Inton lamented.