EDITORIAL – Traffic solutions we needed yesterday

Traffic congestion is one of the many problems that Cebuanos will have to deal with this year and, now more than ever, we feel the need to have a Metro Cebu-wide traffic body that will address our traffic concerns.

The worsening traffic condition in Metro Cebu was felt in the last two quarters of 2015. The problem was even more magnified with the opening of new shopping malls, as well as the implementation of road repairs in different areas in the metro in preparation for the hosting of international events such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation held in August last year and the International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held this month. Many got stuck in private or public transportation for hours.

We Cebuanos can no longer deny it. Traffic woes are upon us. Gone are the days when we could reach areas in the metro in just 15 to 30 minutes. There are just so many vehicles, both public and private, traveling on our small roads.

There have already been moves that pushed for a creation of a metro traffic body. The first was in 2013 yet, through Cebu City North District Rep. Raul del Mar's House Bill 372. The bill has remained pending at the House Committee on Transportation. Cebu 6th district Rep. Luigi Quisumbing, in March 2015, filed House Bill 5556, to complement del Mar's bill in pushing, again, for the creation of a metro traffic body. But, again, the bill is still pending at another committee in Congress.

The Cebu traffic problem has grown in proportions and we need to address it holistically. Each local government unit solving their own traffic concerns is no longer enough. Local government units dealing with their respective traffic concerns - from infrastructure, personnel, road usage and implementation of traffic rules - does not simply work anymore.

During the Christmas holidays, the Cebu City Transportation Office boasted that it was able to successfully handle traffic during the Christmas rush. Good for Cebu City residents, but how about those from the nearby cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay? How about those from nearby towns? Were their trips around Metro Cebu void of traffic congestions?

This is why we badly need a Metro Cebu traffic body that will plan solutions to traffic congestions metro-wide, a body that will see the big picture and address the problem. And we needed that solution to the Cebu traffic problem yesterday.