A proponent of the put up of an integrated terminal complex along Marcos Highway will arrive in the city anytime talk with owners of south-bound bus companies for their inputs that will guide the formulation of their comprehensive plans for the project.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong reminded owners of the top 5 bus companies using portions of Gov. Pack road as their terminals to be ready their suggestions and recommendations when representatives of Megawide Corporation will be in the city anytime this month.
The mayor made the announcement during last Saturday’s talks with bus and van operators to get their insights on the proposed guidelines for the resumption of provincial trips and how to ensure the safety of the public from the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Earlier, the city government identified some 4 to 5 hectares of the over 10-hectare property ceded by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the city through usufruct for the put up of the proposed integrated terminal complex for south-bound buses.
The city chief executive disclosed that buses along Gov. Pack Road will be relocated to the proposed integrated terminal complex while UV express vans and public utility jeepneys (PUJs) will be allowed to use the vacated slots either for their staging or parking areas to help decongest the city’s main road from the tremendous daily traffic jams.
The mayor reported the proponent is inclined to pursue the implementation of the integrated terminal complex project amidst this period of the community quarantine.
He suggested that buses using Naguilian Road in route to their destinations in the Ilocos Region be accommodated in the proposed integrated terminal complex but studies should be on whether or not it will be feasible for the same to use the circumferential road as their passage way to Naguilian Road going to their destinations and vice versa.
However, a number of bus operators claimed that because of the length and the width of their buses, the same could not maneuver the steep slopes and sharp curves of the circumferential road, thus, other options, such as the use of smaller units to bring their passengers from the integrated terminal complex to their staging or parking area along Naguilian Road and vice versa, will have to be considered among other available options.
Magalong pointed out one of the major thrusts of the present administration is to relocate the existing bus terminals inside the central business district area to feasible sites outside the city to avoid the monstrous traffic jams daily where one of the causes is the presence of bus terminals right at the heart of the city.
On the other hand, the proposed north-bound bus terminal at the Slaughterhouse Compound which is also being eyed by another proponent will have to be built soonest to accommodate the increasing number of north-bound buses as their terminals are also situated in some portions of the central business district, thus, traffic congestions in identified checkpoints or within the central business district area will surely be reduced once the same will be operational.
By Dexter A. See
