BAGUIO CITY – The local government needs some P500 million to build a 3-storey multi-level parking structure in the site of the old city auditorium to help solve the urgent need for immediate solutions to the problems of insufficient parking spaces, especially within the central business district area.
Arch. Robert Romero, dean of the University of the Cordilleras (UC) College of Engineering and Architecture, said when UC submitted the overall master development plan of Burnham Park to the local government in 2009, the initial cost of the put up of the proposed 3-storey multi-level parking structure in the identified area in Burnham Park was only P201 million.
Romero explained the design of the proposed multi-level parking structure was in conformity with the prevailing ‘green technology’ that is why it was planned for only 3 storeys with its rooftop being levelled with Harrison road with appropriate landscape suitable to the city’s desire to maintain the state of the park.
The UC official underscored that in the one year that the institution worked on the Burnham Park master development plan that was eventually donated to the local government when it celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2009, the primordial consideration that was made was for the park to depict the city’s rich culture and traditions with emphasis on the preservation and protection of the environment with the least cost of development that will be introduced in several portions of the park.
However, the master development plan for the park was not adopted by the previous members of the local legislative body due to various questions that were raised on the magnitude of development that will be undertaken in the different portions of Burnham Park.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan pointed out that the local government will continue to listen to the suggestions, comments and recommendations of the public relative to the proposed Burnham Park multi-level parking structure that will serve as inputs to whatever actions that will be taken for the implementation of an acceptable project contributory in providing adequate parking spaces for motorists in the city.
“We will continue to listen to them so that we will be able to get more inputs to guide city officials in rendering the right decision for what will be the appropriate project that will be implemented in the designated parking area in the future considering the need to maximize the use of the area which was pinpointed as a potential income generator for the local government,” Domogan stressed.
According to him, the local government wants to solicit the sufficient inputs from concerned residents of the city on how the proposed multi-level parking structure will be implemented, thus, those who are not in favour of the project should also respect the opinion of those who support the put up of the facility in a lesser magnitude from those proposed by several private companies.
He claimed that the project will be undertaken through the approved mode of private-public partnership to ensure the immediate realization of the project that will serve its purpose in the future.
By Dexter A. See
