Back in New York City for a few weeks and something very much missed about living in the area are the basic conveniences. These include things like the ability to walk down the street and pick up anything one may need, not something available living in Bacolod City (however, the same can be said for many parts of the United States, as well).
Staying with friends in Brooklyn, and not in a hotel, there is a necessity to buy personal items, including food. Walk one or two blocks in any direction, there are a couple convenience stores to pick up toiletries or medicine, there are also a couple supermarkets to pick up snacks and other goods. Upon arriving in New York City, with large suitcases in tow, stopped by one of convenience stores close to the apartment and picked up toner, face wash, moisturizer, and shampoo, which made everything fairly seamless while in transit – essentially, defining “convenience” store.
Stopping by the supermarkets, again, a couple blocks away from the apartment, has also become a regular habit, picking up yogurt for breakfast, along with orange juice and snacks. Along with the ease of grocery shopping comes the effortless checkout methods, with options including self-checkout (when a customer rings themselves out) or a credit card system hat works instantly (unlike locally, where cashiers are often running to other registers for a functioning machine that takes a while process).
There have also been stops by local wine shops, plus pit stops at local pubs for a drink; options not easily available when taking a stroll through the City of Smiles.
Not to mention, the nearest subway station is only a couple blocks away as well, which opens up travel opportunities throughout the entire metropolitan area.
Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned amenities can be said for Bacolod City. As mentioned earlier, the issue of inconvenience is not limited to the local community, but it is something that is very apparent when comparing the way of life between the two locales. Having a tangible experience comparing the two, the Negrense capital is definitely lagging behind; however, there are a few simple measures that can help in raising the quality of life.
In New York City, it is possible to get nearly anything imaginable in walking distance – equipped with usable pathways. In just the everyday task of picking up groceries in Bacolod City, getting to the local supermarket requires some form of transportation, whether public or private. Even if one were to walk to the grocery stores, to walk back with bags of groceries is a difficult task when sidewalks are not readily available along many of the city’s roads. In many cases, when there are sidewalks, they are often broken up and uneven, making it an even more precarious journey.
Public transportation in New York City, besides taxis, is primarily through the bus or subway systems. Like most cities around the world, the system is organized by fixed stops, giving both passengers a prearranged location for waiting and, when it comes to buses, it takes a lot of congestion off the roads, since there are predetermined stops, there is none of the random stops in traffic that occur in Bacolod City with jeepneys often swerving across traffic to pick up passengers.
Even with taxis, having also visited Barcelona, in Spain’s Catalonia region, during this trip, they also have taxi stands set up around the city where either taxis are provided space to lineup to wait for passengers or people can wait by a sign and the next available taxi will stop and provide them the desired service. While there is still the ability to flag down a taxi, the taxi stands provide a more organized methods wherein traffic flow is not interrupted by taxis stopping or abruptly shifting lanes (like jeepneys) and it is a more efficient way of acquiring taxi services – very much like the taxi stands outside the major malls in Bacolod City.
The inaccessibility of such basic conveniences may appear minor, but seeing the potential with implementing such simple things – usable sidewalks or organized stops for public transportation – can do so much in lifting the quality of life for city residents and visitors. In particular, a more user-friendly transportation system for individuals unfamiliar with the local arrangement will only help in promoting the city as a more attractive location.
In the same way that many businesses in the city lack parking, there should be no expectation that every person has a private vehicle or can access public transportation. Offering more pedestrian accessibility for city residents would not only be an improvement to overall mobility, but an improvement for local business with more people being able to get to where they need to without added hassle./WDJ