BAGUIO CITY – The City Engineering Office proposed the inclusion of some P5 million in the city’s annual budget next year to initially fund the improvement of various roads that will contribute in efforts to ensure the safety of pedestrians passing along the said roads.
City Engineer Edgar Victorio Olpindo said that among the proposed works to be done along major city roads include the put up of sidewalks that will guarantee the safety of pedestrians, the installation of railings and ramps for persons with disabilities purposely to make city roads safe for walking.
He admitted that a good number of city roads do not actually have sidewalks that is why pedestrians are forced to walk on the pavements thereby exposing them to extreme danger from being bumped or sideswiped by motorists, thus, the need for the local government to improve the existing condition of city roads.
The City |Engineer added that there will be a continuing assessment of the actual condition of city roads so that whatever corrective measures that will be done will be planned and programmed for inclusion in future budgets of the city until all the necessary improvements shall have been completed.
Olpindo claimed that roads that do not have the required ramps for PWDs will also be improved to provide for the needed ramps that will ensure that city roads will be PWD-friendly and compliant to prevailing standards.
According to him, the proposed funding for the improvement of city roads will be dependent on the outcome of the assessment that will be conducted but it will surely increase in the coming years so that there will be more roads in the different parts of the city that will be improved for the benefit of ensuring safety while walking on the said roads.
He explained that appropriate coordination is also being done by his office with the Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO) so that all improvements that will be done should be aligned with prevailing standards of roads for the safety of both the pedestrians and the motoring public.
Olpindo asserted that the local government will make do with the available funds that will be provided for the proposed improvement of city roads because the project will be a continuing endeavour until such time that the desired improvement of the city roads will be completed within a prescribed period of time.
The city official underscored the importance of having to put in place sidewalks as part of national and city roads around the city because it will serve as the area where pedestrians will walk instead of walking on the roads that will expose them to extreme danger thereby compromising their safety.
Olpindo called on city residents and visitors for their patience and understanding on the current status of the city roads because the local government is doing its best to improve whatever are the identified problems on the said roads to guarantee the safety of the public.
The City Engineering office is the office responsible for the maintenance of all horizontal projects of the local government.
By Dexter A. See