Quezon Memorial Circle Park

Rather than focus on world-shaking events (such as the sudden outbreak of internal war in Israel or on macro economic issues), I choose a topic of community interest today.

A walk in the park at 88. A day after I had achieved the milestone of 88 years, I drove in the early morning alone to the Quezon Memorial Circle area. What I saw generally pleased me.

The Quezon Memorial Elliptical Road Park is like an “island.” It is impossible for pedestrians to just walk to and cross to it. Continuous fast-moving motor vehicle traffic won’t allow it. The road itself is a convergence point of all traffic to-and-from different parts of our big metropolis. The road is eight motor lanes wide. The island can be reached only through vehicles and only through underground pedestrian traffic from across the City Hall area (as far as I know).

One pays P20 to park, to control entry, but once inside and parked, one can stay as long as needed. Taxis can deliver and pick passengers at some limited points. Big loads of dedicated buses are allowed, but limited.

The park itself has become a popular place to visit. Big public events, like festivals and conventions and even political meetings are allowed by permission. On this Sunday, it was a normal visit of people who go there for a break in the park.

Upon arrival, I walked the pathways along the periphery of the park. Here I passed by some dedicated areas were the garden stores are located. All of them were still closed,  but one can peer through their enclosed contents. I walked until I no longer could. The area of the park which is being built as a train station for the rail line from North Avenue to the Batasan area is off-limits while construction is ongoing.

What I like about the park. It was a weekend, and the park was full of people early in the morning. Many visitors were doing their own health improvement routines: walking, jogging, self-exercise through body calisthenics. Some park goers were in small groups, others in pairs, and many on solitary missions for their individual health.

The park has provided some facilities to help those who want some exercise challenge. There is a part of the park dedicated toward muscular improvements. A series of simply fabricated exercise machines that exercisers can use as aids to support cardio vascular endeavors. (The machines were fabricated from steel piping materials and appear sufficiently adequate for the purpose.)

The number of such machines are few and the place relatively limited. But I observed enthusiastic usage by those who worked on them.

The most popular part of the park converges around the wide circular space that surrounds the Quezon Monument, with its three tall pillars that point skyward.

In the center of this area is an open, cemented gathering place where large meetings can be accommodated. A large, impressive stage is on one side of this area. The stage can be used for a public performance or a political or public rally. In front of the large stage are thousands of stacked-up monoplastic white chairs. The place can accommodate a large public gathering in seated comfort for thousands of people if need be. On that morning, some of the chairs were set in one part of this huge area to enable some visitors to participate in the celebration of a public mass that was also being broadcast.

However, the main activity of the people was on the road that encircles this large public area. Hundreds of joggers and walkers kept moving in the early morning before the sun became harsh in a single counter-clockwise direction.

This is the magnet for most of those who come to the park. They are there to take their morning exercise, each one to their own individual needs and speeds, going round-and-round by jogging and/or walking along the endless circular path. In a few cases, there were also children, a few of them on their own little bicycles, probably watched by their parents.

The areas by the roadside of this jogging place shelter other people doing their own individual exercises. Some are practicing their dance moves, which include, among others, hand and body motions coordinating with the feet. Many of these moves are routines taken from what we see on TV or on cellphone Apps.

On the other paths and areas protected by the shade of trees, I saw others practice their own special exercises or activities. I found many replications of of a pair of men – as in master-and-pupil – practicing some of the boxing moves of Manny Pacquiao. Also, badminton is a game that can be played under the shade and in secluded parts of the park.

Brisk food commerce is inevitable in this setting. The place is full of small stalls where food can be bought. There are also walking food stores. A common vendor is the taho vendor.

There are concessionaires for restaurants with structures inside the park. It was still early in the day, and the restaurants were still closed.

In general, I observed the presence of sufficient number of uniformed city security personnel to keep the place safe for visitors.

What disappointed me. There were many things, however, that disappointed me in this visit. The first most important disappointment is that the place can be much more presentable, as it is not well cared for despite the efforts of hired streetsweepers.

One can start with the places often most visited. This means the restaurants and the pathways all over the place.

The place deserves better care. However, it seems the park is catering to too many demands, but there is not enough money allocated for its upkeep. The roadways for cars and for pedestrians inside the park need better maintenance, and it seems that there is little money being spent to improve the pathways inside the park.

There are simply too many structures inside the park and many of them are falling apart. This is most true of the areas allotted to the selling of plants and other garden items.

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