EDITORIAL - Street parking ban

In a bid to improve traffic flow and enhance livability, the government is considering a ban on street parking in Metro Manila.

Parking is already banned along major thoroughfares such as EDSA, but Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is eyeing a parking ban on all public roads from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., with violators to be subjected to the no-contact apprehension policy.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, for its part, is proposing to ban parking along side streets only during the rush hours when the MMDA’s number coding is also in effect, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Mayors of Metro Manila’s 17 local government units will still have to fine-tune the proposals and synchronize their rules. Despite the mayors having a Metro Manila Council, traffic rules are not uniformly enforced across the National Capital Region, with LGUs having different rules even in number coding.

Even traffic infrastructure varies from LGU to LGU, with several allowing the MMDA to take out countdown timers from traffic lights in busy NCAP-trap intersections, while others have retained and even installed motorist-friendly large timers.

In pushing for the parking ban, Remulla explained, “The law says that a public street is not for private enterprise, and we consider parking a private enterprise. It is a private car on a public street, so we will now designate them as no-parking zones, especially in the streets which affect Metro Manila traffic.”

Several of the mayors, however, cited the difficulty of enforcing the ban due to limited space in their localities. One mayor said owners of private lots in their locality were even given incentives to open the lots for public parking.

It’s not the first time that a street parking ban has been proposed in Metro Manila. Bills have been filed in the past years, in the Senate by Sherwin Gatchalian, and in the House by former speaker Lord Allan Velasco, proposing a “no parking space, no car policy” in the metropolis.

The proposed Proof-of-Parking Space Act requires prospective buyers of motor vehicles to present a notarized affidavit that they have a permanent parking facility for the vehicle before the purchase can be done. The affidavit will also be required for vehicle registration.

The bills, however, failed to gain traction. Traffic enforcers noted that in certain areas, parked motor vehicles were not the only street obstructions, but even wakes, often held with the permission of barangay officials.

While parking space limitations are real, it is also clear that anarchy cannot prevail in a traffic-choked metropolis. LGUs can work out a compromise that may bring some order in the chaos.