BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading the so-called No Standing Parking Reservation in the city.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Elaine D. Sembrano stated that it will be a policy of the local government to prohibit any individual, natural or juridical, from reserving a parking slot or space by physically standing or occupying the same, in all free parking areas in the different parts of the city.
Under the provisions of the proposed ordinance, a fine of P1,000 shall be imposed any person who will be found violating the pertinent provisions of the local legislative measure.
The ordinance shall be posted clearly and visibly in all parking areas by the concerned management and along city roads where there are identified parking spaces by the City Engineering Office for the guidance of the motorists.
According to the ordinance, motorists nowadays have a difficult time looking for available parking spaces in the city because some individuals physically stand in their way to reserve a parking slot for their vehicles that go around the parking area awaiting the availability of vacant spaces for their parking needs.
The ordinance disclosed that there were instances of alleged confrontation involving motorists and pedestrians regarding parking slot reservations, thus, the need for the local legislative body to adopt the necessary regulations to avert conflicts that may arise between motorists and pedestrians.
The ordinance stipulated that basic parking etiquette and polite behavior dictates that in the absence of a formal reservation of a parking slot, parking spaces in the different parking areas around the city are on a first come, first serve basis regardless of whether the parking spaces are located in a private or public area.
Sembrano claimed that in the interest of peace and order, public concern and public morals, there is an urgent need for the local government to institute the appropriate measures to prohibit the act of standing parking reservation for the benefit of the greater interest of the motorists.
The ordinance admitted that the existing parking areas in the different parts of the city cannot accommodate the huge volume of vehicles plying the city’s streets, especially during weekends where there is a significant increase in the number of visitors flocking to the city.
Among the practice of some individuals and motorists is to stand on the available parking slots to await for their vehicle to arrive in the area to prevent other motorists from getting the available parking slot which is the common cause of untoward incidents involving motorists and pedestrians in the said parking areas.
The proposed ordinance was referred to a committee of the local legislative body for study and recommendation whether or not it will be passed for second and third readings after thorough evaluation and assessment on the legality of the measure.
By Dexter A. See
