BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan issued a stern warning to machine shop owners who had been using portions of the sidewalks and even national and city roads as their parking areas and repair sites to start looking for their parking slots to avoid the vehicles of their clients from being taken by the local government.
The local chief executive also warned vehicle owners from using widened roadlines in the city as their parking areas because they are part of the target of the anti-obstruction task force once it will be in full operation next week.
“We are saddened by the refusal of our vehicle owners to comply with our repeated appeal for them to avoid using the roads as their parking areas to help decongest traffic; we have to resort to the use of existing laws, rules and regulations to compel them to abide by the rules. We do not want to penalize our constituents for their simple violations but it seems that they have put to the test the limits of the powers of the local government so they have to pay the price of their belligerent attitude,”Domogan stressed.
He said it has been pinpointed by studies that one of the major causes of traffic congestions around the city is the wayward parking of motor vehicles on the sides of the various roads and the use of the widened roads as parking areas of machine shops and vehicle owners instead of serving its purpose for the benefit of all motorists.
According to him, much have been already been said to convince local residents, machine shopowners, among others, not to use the sides of roads and widened portions of roads as parking areas because of worsening traffic congestions but it seems the appeal of the local officials have fallen on deaf ears.
Domogan explained notices will be issued to owners of junk vehicles parked along roads to remove their vehicles obstructing the smooth flow of traffic within a reasonable period of time; if the owners refuse to do so, members of the anti-obstructin task force will remove the vehicles and temporarily use the motor pool compound in City Camp as temporary impounding area for such vehicles.
He added even tires and flower boxes being used as signs that certain areas are reserved as parking spaces for houses are just in front of the roads and streets in the different barangays will also be removed.
Domogan reiterated motor vehicle owners were given sufficient time to look for parking areas for vehicles so as not to obstruct the smooth flow of traffic in the different parts of the city, thus, it is now the time for the city to take back the portions of the roads being used by individuals and businesses for their own use in order to help improve the traffic situation around the city.
He appealed to local residents, machine shop owners, and vehicle owners to cooperate with the city’s anti-obstruction campaign to bring back order and improved traffic in the different parts of the city as part of gaining people’s trust in government efforts to improve community welfare.
By Dexter A. See
