Major overhaul for Commonwealth Avenue

source: mb.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines — Known as the highway of death, Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City (QC) will undergo a major overhaul —from the speed limit to be imposed, to the designation lanes for particular vehicles, and addition of more concrete barriers.

In a press briefing Tuesday, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said initial discussions with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) identified the obvious problems that contribute to the high number of deaths and accidents on Commonwealth Avenue.

“It looks like there are important findings already but do not want to preempt our preliminary exchanges with the MMDA,” he said.

Traffic and road experts, using high-tech equipment, assessed the road condition in the highway and initially recommended some changes to improve the safety of pedestrians and motorists.

For instance, the designated areas for the disembarkation of passengers pose potential risk, Singson said.

“At some points, there were disembarkation lanes where the pedestrian would still have to cross the road. They risk being sideswiped by buses,” he said.

The grim reputation of Commonwealth Ave. was highlighted yet again by the death of award-winning journalist Lourdes “Chit” Estella Simbulan, a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines.

The taxi she was riding in was rammed by an over-speeding bus, causing her instant death. A few days later, another death due to road accident was reported on Commonwealth Avenue.

Singson said the structural or engineering changes in Commonwealth Avenue, like the construction of pedestrian-friendly overpasses or foot bridges and changes in the concrete barriers separating Commonwealth Avenue would take some time.

In the meantime, however, he suggested that a speed limit should be strictly imposed by the MMDA to avoid further accidents and fatalities.

“The engineering changes would have to wait a little bit but we suggest MMDA to enforce traffic rules immediately. If they say 60 km per hour, we should have traffic enforcers to implement it,” he said.

In studying the possibility of putting up lanes separators for specific vehicles, Singson pointed out that the wide span of the boulevard invites motorists to go on a fast lane. “That is the assessment of the experts. It’s such a wide boulevard that the tendency is go on high speed,” he said.

Other potential engineering changes being studied are:

•Removal of concrete and hard barriers in the islands and replacing these with softer material. “The experts suggest maybe it should be softer barrier, plastic, rubberized. Why concrete, why hard?” Singson said.

• Putting up more pedestrian overpass.

• Changes in the embarkation and disembarkation area for pedestrian. “Pedestrians need not have to cross the boulevard to get to safety. Right now, they risk being sideswiped by motorists,” Singson said.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
source: mb.com.ph