Bacolod City Administrator, Atty. John Orola, recently announced a Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) technical team will be in town this month to study the current traffic situation plaguing Bacolod City.

According to Orola, the technical team will study traffic flow around the city and provide recommendations to the city government on how to improve the situation.

The city administrator said the visit came about after a meeting with MMDA officials, alongside City Legal Officer, Atty. Joselito Bayatan; and Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia.

He also urged the public to give the city government more time to address the traffic situation, noting he has asked the mayor to press the Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod to pass an ordinance calling for strict enforcement of existing traffic policies.

A study last November by the Boston Consulting Group found Metro Manila, the area overseen by the MMDA, has the third worst traffic situation in Southeast Asia, behind Bangkok and Jakarta.

The study found travel time often doubles during rush hour and all indicators only forecast the situation getting worse./DGB, WDJ