Mayor Vico Sotto explained to the netizens on social media why he’s having difficulties in solving the traffic problem in Pasig City.
On August 9, Sotto made a lengthy post explaining why the recent decision of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to solve the traffic in EDSA made the situation along major roads in Pasig City worse.
According to him, many vehicles coming from other cities are now using the roads of Pasig City including C5 because of some new rules along EDSA, but he said that he would still trust the MMDA on handling the situation along Metro Manila.
“In recent days, we have had to deal with even more challenges. Most notably, the efforts of the #MMDA along #EDSA have greatly increased vehicle volume in C5 and even the interior roads of Pasig. We will defer to the wisdom & authority of the MMDA, but this increased traffic on our side is a reality for now.” Vico Sotto said.
Sotto explained that no policies would solve the traffic problem in Metro Manila unless the government tries to make a way to stop the proliferation of purchasing traffic vehicles.
“With all of this in mind, the bottom line is that traffic in Pasig and Metro Manila will continue to worsen no matter what traffic policies we have UNLESS we lessen the demand for cars. This means a greater focus on moving people rather than private vehicles. This means incorporating more non-car modes of transportation in our long-term plans.” said Sotto.
“We will balance the longer term with the short term need to manage traffic better. This will be difficult, but we are prepared to fight for better mobility in Pasig,” he added.
In the same post, Sotto also expressed disappointment after he discovered that the current traffic data available in his City was made in 2014 which made it difficult for them to make new rules.
Sotto also showcased his short term actions to solve the traffic in Pasig:
– Recalibration of stoplights based on more recent data
– Clearer policy on the turning off of stoplights for manual enforcement
– Partnership with PNP to help with enforcement and entrapment ops for kotong enforcers (salamat COP)
– Ugnayan sa mga TODA (ongoing; inuna ito dahil sila ang pinaka marami) at iba pang transport groups
– Koordinasyon sa DPWH at Manila Water para mapabilis ang paggawa sa C Raymundo (another post on this later)
– Clearing operations (paki reklamo sa UsaP ang mga brgy na kulang sa aksyon)
– Ordinansang ipinagbabawal ang pagsara ng mga barangay roads (pending sa konseho)