After a team from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) previously visited Bacolod City to evaluate traffic in the city, MMDA chairman, General Danilo Lim, recently turned over two volumes of a traffic master plan to Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
“This is a giant leap towards achieving our vision to improve our traffic management system,” the mayor stressed.
Among the recommendations earlier voiced by the traffic authority pointed out how five out of the city’s 36 intersections were equipped with traffic signals. They project signaling to be installed at the remaining intersections by 2020.
The MMDA also recommended increasing fees for traffic violators, along with education and training for Bacolod Traffic Authority Office traffic enforcers.
In 2017, a study by the Boston Consulting Group found Metro Manila has the third-worst traffic situation in Southeast Asia behind Bangkok, Thailand and Jakarta, Indonesia. They also project the city to reach “standstill levels,” or a situation where vehicles operate at less than 10 kilometers per hour, by 2022.
Additionally, the study found Metro Manila drivers are on average stuck in traffic for around 66 minutes a day./WDJ