MMDA: Implementation of traffic rules in Bacolod better than other regions

METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic and engineering center director Neomie Recio said yesterday the implementation of traffic rules and regulations in Bacolod City is more organized compared to other regions in the country.

Recio said Bacolod has wide roads and less presence of tricycles in the national highway.

“We have visited several places and Bacolod is so different because of its wide roads and strict implementation of traffic rules,” she said.

Among its places they visited were Ilocos, Naga, Bicol, Batangas, Cavite, and Tarlac.

Recio along with her 14 colleagues arrived in Bacolod on Sunday to study the traffic situation here for 12 days and propose a Traffic Management Masterplan.

Recio said they already visited the busiest intersections during peak hours in

the morning and in the afternoon.

She said they will compare the traffic volume against the traffic capacity of the roads, and identify traffic generators and problems in certain areas and make recommendations on how to solve them.

After the 12-day study, she added they will bring the data to their office in Manila for analysis and evaluation.

The MMDA performs planning, monitoring, and coordinative functions, and in the process exercises regulatory and supervisory authority over the delivery of metro-wide services within Metro Manila.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that commissioning a traffic master plan could cost millions if done by private groups, but MMDA is assisting Bacolod for free.

He said he is thankful to MMDA chairman Danilo Lim for graciously granting his request for a free traffic master plan.

“Also, we believe that the best group that we can get to help us come up with a master plan for the traffic in Bacolod is the MMDA. Not only are they equipped in academics, but they also have actual experience,” Leonardia said.

He said it is something to be proud that the city’s traffic situation is much better than other places based on MMDA’S statement.

Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and Councilor Dindo Ramos said they are thankful with the MMDA and they will wait for its final recommendation.

“If it needs an amendment in our ordinances, we will amend it if it really needed,” they said./map

BACOLOD CITY PIO From left: Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) head Supt. Luisito Acebuche, Councilor Dindo Ramos, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, Mayor Evelio Leonardia, MMDA traffic engineering center director Neomie Recio, Engr. Ryan Tacbad, computer maintenance technician Vincent Joel Recio, and Engr. Guillermo Rafanan.