Cebu City seeks MMDA help to solve traffic woes
2024-Feb-09 18:00
SOLVING TRAFFIC. Ernest Herrera, special assistant of the Cebu City mayor, discusses with Metro Manila Development Authority computer programmers Mario Melendres and Noel Enriquez the scope of their evaluation of the existing traffic light system in the capital city. Herrera on Thursday (Feb. 8, 2024) said the Cebu City government partners with the MMDA to help solve the city's traffic woes. (Photo courtesy of Ernest Herrera)
CEBU CITY – Two Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) programmers are now here to conduct an assessment of the current traffic light systems in the capital city, a local official said Thursday.
The city government has earlier sought the help of MMDA to asses the existing traffic lights system in the city's major roads to solve the worsening traffic woes, Ernest Herrera, special assistant at the Office of the Mayor, said Thursday.
"They are still here today (Jan. 8). They are from the programming department of MMDA. They will recommend to us after evaluating our traffic lights," Herrera told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
The focus of the MMDA personnel's assessment would also determine whether a junction needs digitally operated traffic lights or a simple system controlled remotely through a command center.
Herrera said Mayor Michael Rama sought MMDA's help to solve the traffic woes in the city after he reorganized the local traffic body which is now named as Road Management Authority or RMA.
The MMDA computer programmers, Mario Melendres and Noel Enriquez, are expected to recommend immediate actions, including if existing traffic lights need replacement or just a tweak in the synchronization of systems.
"We will get a full-scale benefit from this MMDA-Cebu City partnership. But they are here for free," he added.
The city, he said, is also considering the proposal of some camps to widen existing roads, especially the Banilad-Talamban corridor where the city is now starting to conduct a resurvey of properties to determine ownership of properties that may be affected by future road widening projects.
"Right now, we are recovering our sidewalks. This is one way of expanding the capacity of our roads," he said. (PNA)