After a fatal car accident last month along Diversion Road in Iloilo City’s Mandurriao district, which prompted Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas to seek assistance from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to review the city’s traffic situation, the agency announced they would begin their evaluations next month.
“A 12-man MMDA team will be here for two weeks in August as they will help us prepare our traffic management plan,” the mayor revealed.
The said agency conducted a study in Bacolod City last year.
According to Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) head, Police Lt. Colonel Luisito Acebuche, the preliminary findings as of last May recommended prohibiting double parking, solving the issue of jaywalking, and removing roundabouts from the Shopping area and in Barangay Villamonte.
A 2017 study by the Boston Consulting Group found Metro Manila had the third-worst traffic situation in Southeast Asia behind Bangkok, Thailand and Jakarta, Indonesia.
They also projected the city to reach “standstill levels,” or a situation where vehicles operate at less than 10 kilometers per hour, by 2022./WDJ