Existing plan allows mixed traffic: Tom wants lane for BRT in north

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants a lane dedicated for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project buses at the Ayala to Talamban section of the project.

The existing plan to just let the BRT buses share the road with private vehicles but Osmeña wants the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to review this arrangement.

“This request is without prejudice to the continued full and fast implementation of the Bulacao-to-Ayala section of the Cebu BRT which is already designed along a median alignment and with fully-dedicated lanes, typical for a full BRT configuration,” reads Osmeña’s letter to DOTr.

The letter dated October 2 is addressed to DOTr Secretary Arturo Tugade.

In the letter, Osmeña requests DOTr to review the execution methodology and revise the implementation timeline for the BRT project to effect a dedicated lane for the Ayala to Talamban section.

The mayor cited the original pre-feasibility study in 2010, which states that Phase 1 of the BRT would include continuous priority for segregated/ dedicated lanes between the Bulacao and Ayala Mall terminal.

Phase 2, meanwhile, would see the BRT segregation and priority extending between Ayala Mall and Talamban.

The feasibility study in 2012 found that the Cebu BRT can be implemented as a single project, which may have a segregated lane from Bulacao to Ayala and shared traffic from Ayala to Talamban road will be.

“A segregated busway between Bulacao and Ayala Mall; An open service plan that ensures that, whilst infrastructure is limited to that between Bulacao and Ayala, BRT services operate beyond this. Specifically, in the case of Ayala Mall to Talamban where bus passage will be facilitated by bus priority measures where required and where achievable within the confines of the roadway,” Osmeña’s letter reads.

City Administrator Nigel Paul Villarete, himself an urban planner, said the feasibility study proper has downloaded the design instead of dedicated median lanes from Bulacao to Talamban into mixed traffic with priority to the BRT buses.

“The reason given is that the previous administration didn't want a phased approach and wanted to complete everything at once instead.  Due to the constraint and difficulty in road-right of-way (RROW) acquisition in the Ayala to Talamban section, they downgrade the design to a later one, mixed traffic, with priority,” he told The FREEMAN.

Villarete said the project is still with mixed traffic and there’s nothing wrong with the existing design, however, the full dedicated lane for BRT system will be better.

Osmeña said the city government understands that the decision to proceed with the “mixed-traffic-lateral-bus-stop” design of Ayala to Talamban was due to the consideration of the constrained nature of the section in Ban-Tal.

The implementation of designated lane for BRT along Ban-Tal would require significant land assembly beyond the limits of the existing right-of-way, the mayor added.

But he said he wants to cancel the road sharing along the Ban-Tal for the BRT.

“Cebu City’s Transport Policy Direction is to establish a public urban mass transport system as the primary mode of transportation, in the form of the BRT,” Osmeña said.

He said the city’s long-term goal goes beyond the feasibility study of the Ban-Tal corridor.

“We believe it is to the best interest of the Cebu City and its constituents to have a full BRT design, median stations with fully segregated/dedicated lanes all over the City of Cebu, even beyond the scope of this project,” he added.

Once the BRT is in place, buses will traverse the city’s major thoroughfares such as N. Bacalso Avenue, South Road Properties, Osmeña Boulevard, N. Escario Street and Governor Cuenco Avenue.

BRT Project Implementation Unit Head lawyer Rafael Christopher Yap said he has endorsed the mayor’s letter to DOTr weeks ago.

The DOTr has not responded yet.

The P16.3 billion BRT project is targeted to be operational in 2021. (FREEMAN)