City officials now wary of Road Revolution 3

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young is against the holding of the next “road revolution” in Osmeña Boulevard because this will cause traffic congestion in many parts of the city.

But Young, who presides over the Cebu City Council, said he is still willing to listen to the organizers of the road revolution if they have proposals to minimize the traffic problem during such an event.

Mayor Michael Rama earlier said he will call for a meeting with lawyer Antonio Oposa and other leaders of the road revolution, whose intention is to promote environmental concerns.

According to Young, the road revolution has been found effective in other countries because of their cold temperature. He pointed out that in the Philippines, it would be inappropriate for an employee to ride on bikes in going to their workplaces.

“Kon magbisekleta ka or maglakaw paingon sa imong trabahoan panington man ta’g maayo kay init man kaayo dinhi sa ato dili sama sa ubang nasud nga bugnaw,” the vice mayor said.

He admired the organizers of last Saturday’s road revolution that was conducted along P. Lopez Street and portions of P. Burgos and Colon Streets when they apologized to the public for the inconvenience their activity had brought.

“Aw kon katunga ra sa karsada diha sa Osmeña Boulevard ang ilang gamiton sa Road Revolution ambot kaha… maminaw usa mi nila,” Young added.

Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem, who chairs the City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM), said they will conduct a traffic impact assessment first before granting the request of any group applying for road closure.

“We learned a valuable lesson from the Road Revolution. It was only through the 2nd Road Revolution that we learned that we have to conduct a threat impact assessment,” Jakosalem said.

He said they will do this first before granting the request of whatever organization, be it from barangay officials, schools, or fun run organizers among others.

Jakosalem has advised those who claimed to be environmentalists seeking a 3rd Road Revolution to meet with Rama to talk about their plan.

“We cannot allow them to hold a Road Revolution 3 if they don’t meet with the mayor. Kay pirteng daghana ang nangreklamo,” Jakosalem said, saying the traffic was unmanageable during the September 24 Road Revolution despite the deployment of 50 traffic personnel. He said CITOM is in favor that the next road revolution will be held at the South Road Properties. (FREEMAN)