Ordinance barring parking under bridge pushed

Especially for vehicles carrying flammables

CEBU, Philippines - Pretty soon, it will be unlawful for any heavy equipment and tankers, especially those carrying flammables, to park below the Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge.

An ordinance on the matter authored by Councilor Elston Dabon, chairman of the committee on transportation, covers the entire stretch beneath the bridge and includes butane canisters as flammable liquid, citing that this will pose great risk to life and property should any explosion may occur.

Dabon’s proposed ordinance was crafted after the Umapad barangay council passed a resolution barring heavy equipment and vehicles carrying volatile materials from parking under the said bridge, in the area within the barangay’s jurisdiction.

In a resolution sponsored by barangay councilman Reb Cortes, Umapad officials said they were concerned because of the number of high-risk vehicles that regularly park under the bridge.

In the proposed ordinance of Dabon presented to the City Council on Tuesday, a fine of P500 will be imposed to violators.

The proposal was approved for first reading and subject for review at the council’s committee on laws and ordinance.

“There is a great need to penalize and to discourage such practice in order to promote safety and protection within the area,” Dabon said. If the ordinance will be approved, the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue, in coordination with Barangay Umapad, will be responsible for the full implementation.

Vice Mayor Carlo Pontico Fortuna said trucks are seen parking under the bridge especially during the hours when they are banned from plying the city streets.

“Most of them are delivery trucks parked under the bridge ilabi na kung truck ban. Nahimo na hinuon nga parking area ang ubos sa bridge,” the vice mayor said.

He said the area is supposedly a family park, which was realized through the joint effort of the Mandaue City government and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The family park was established in 2013 during the time of then mayor Jonas Cortes, as he wanted the park to represent an enhance community development in the city, where families can unwind without worrying how much they should spend, and where foreign and domestic tourists, especially those coming from the airport, can also drop by.

The park is opened early morning to accommodate joggers and is kept open to the public until 10 p.m. (FREEMAN)