Note : I first posted this in October 8, 2014.
I believe one of the root cause of Highway 54 (EDSA) bottleneck traffic was the unstoppable sprawling of big malls from Manila Bay Reclamation Area in Pasay City all the way to Balintawak in Caloocan City. In the other parts of the world, like North and South America, Europe, and Australia / New Zealand, most of the big malls, entertainment centers, sport / coliseum / arena centers, and amusement parks were located in far-flung places wherein you have to take the expressway by force just to make the city proper more traffic manageable, less-polluted, and of course more liveable. Thereby parks, museums, libraries, monuments, statues, landmark buildings, and historical places were located in the city with continued support and funding from their respective governments.
Uncontrollable amassing of brand new cars and motorcycles by the free citizens, roaming and parking all over the streets are also big factors to our hellish and unbearable daily traffic that is also a big loss to our daily productive lives. No new major roads in Metro Manila were constructed in the last 4 years of the current administration.
If proper master urban planning was done ahead in the 70’s, maybe malls were not constructed in the main city but instead in the nearby provinces like Cavite and Bulacan. One good example of great master urban planner was the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) Group. The Philippine Arena was carefully planned and constructed in distant place in Santa Maria, Bulacan with the help of British engineers, architects, and consultants, ensuring the adequate space and wide acceptance of the benefiting public in the long run.
We should always keep in mind that the most important factor to consider in traffic improvement in EDSA is the DISCIPLINE of the drivers and the riding public, as well as the pedestrians. “May kasabihan nga eh, ang bansa ay hindi uunlad kung hindi uumpisahan ang pag-DIDISIPLINA sa ating sarili.”
#ThinkBeyond2016
#SubwaySystemIsTheDreamOfEveryThinkingFilipino
#FilipinoThinks
#HelloNEDA
#BringBackTheGloryDays
#WaitAndSee
#InfrastructureMattersMoreThanEver
#Reposting
Photography by Richard A. Reyes
