BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance regulating the parking of motor vehicles at Sto Nino Slaughterhouse compound barangay to prevent congestions in the busy streets of the barangay.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Leandro B. Yangot, Jr. identified several areas within the barangay as potential parking areas wherein parking fees shall be collected and accrue to the local government and the barangay.
The identified parking areas in the said barangay are the covered area bounded by Magsaysay Avenue and Balajadja St. fronting the existing bus terminal and flea market and theformer Times Transit terminal, including its back portion.
Under the pertinent provisions of the ordinance, the rates for these pay parking areas shall be P60 for the first two hours and additional P10 for each succeeding hour for trucks. Buses will be charged P50 for the first two hours and P10 for each succeeding hour; P20 for the first two hours and P10 for each succeeding hour for vans, pickups, jeepneys, cars and others of similar capacity vehicles; P10 for the first two hours and P5 for each succeeding hour for motorcycles and a flat rate of P200 for overnight parking.
Yangot proposed that revenue collection clerks should be deployed in the area to collect the parking fees while overnight parking should be renewed nightly to discourage the use of the area as a permanent parking space.
On the other hand, the ordinance stated public utility vehicles shall not be allowed to use the area for staging or terminal purposes while the use of the designated parking areas for vehicle repair shall not be allowed.
The ordinance also prohibits cooking within the parking areas while the local government shall not be liable for any loss of items inside the parked vehicles while parked in the designated parking areas.
Yangot pointed out the road between the Imson building and the flea market shall be used as an egress only and parking along the said road shall not be allowed anytime.
He claimed all existing contracts or agreements relative to the use of parking areas identified, if any, where the local government is a party, shall be no longer be renewed.
Executive Order No. 312 dated April 23, 1930, declared that the area in Baguio city known as the Slaughterhouse Compound was reserved as a sanitary, and livestock yard of the city and placed under its administration and as administrator, the local government introduced substantial improvements in the area such as, but not limited to, the improvement of the corrals, construction of government offices, construction of the satellite market building, the concreting of pavements for parking purposes.
While the local government is collecting parking fees for the use of designated parking areas at the Slaughterhouse Compound, Yangot emphasized there have to be clear cut policies,guidelines, and regulations relative to the maintenance, operation, and administration of the parking areas at the said place.
By Dexter A. see
