BAGUIO CITY December 10 – The city’s Transport and Traffic Management Committee (TTMC) recently identified 4 areas within the central business district as alternative parking spaces for motor vehicles durying the Yuletide season when lowland vacationers flock to the city to spend a well-deserved break.
During the emergency meeting of the TTMC at the City Mayor’s Office, the identified alternative parking spaces include the Baguio City National High School (BCNHS) grounds, Quezon Elementary School grounds, the Baguio Convention Center parking area, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) property at the PNR compound aside from the Ganza pay parking area along Harrison road and the city’s pay parking facility at the old city auditorium within Burnham Park.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan already wrote GSIS president Roberto Vergara to allow the city government to temporarily use its property within the PNR compound as an alternative parking area for motor vehicles following the expected influx of motorists to the city during the Yuletide season.
Domogan, who is the chairman of the TTMC, said he is optimistic that the GSIS will grant the request considering that the GSIS administration previously granted similar requests in the past, especially during the month-long celebration of the flower festival or Panagbenga.
At the same time, the TTMC also requested owners of private educational institutions around the city to open their parking spaces during the Yuletide season for pay parking purposes to help decongest the expected overcrowding of motor vehicles along major roads once the vacationers are in our city.
The TTMC also tasked the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO)( to designate at least one police officer in the proposed alternative parking areas to make sure that motorists will not be victimized by unscrupulous bukas kotse gang members who are also expected to come up to the city and take advantage of the influx of visitors from the different parts of the archipelago.
For his part, Senior Superintendent Rolando F. Miranda, BCPO officer-in-charge, said appropriate coordination has already been made with the La Union and Pangasinan provincial police offices to make sure that when there is overcrowding along the entrance of Kennon road, traffic personnel assigned in the chokepoints will divert the traffic to Marcos highway to prevent the occurrence of prolonged travel from the lowlands up to the city.
He added adequate force multipliers will be assigned to man traffic in identified chokepoints around the city to make sure that the prolonged traffic last year will not be experienced by motorists flocking to the city this year in order to allow vacationers to enjoy their vacation and not for them to be pestered by tremendous traffic jams.
He claimed appropriate signages to guide motorists on the prevailing traffic schemes and directions leading to their desired destinations will be installed prior to the expected influx of visitors during the Yuletide season.
