STARTING on Monday, the deployment of traffic enforcers will focus on roads leading to and from public and private cemeteries in the metropolis, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Sunday.
The MMDA also assured that it will continue to regulate vehicular traffic on major thoroughfares and exits points going to the North and South Luzon Expressways, as well as bus terminals, as the people troop to the provinces for the All Saints’ and All Souls Days commemoration.
Lawyer Yves Gonzalez, traffic head of the agency, said some 1,800 traffic enforcers were already deployed to assist their counterparts from the local governments in keeping the smooth flow of traffic.
“On October 31 our focus is on the way to and out of the cemeteries and also to help the enforcers from the local governments to maintain order and implement traffic rerouting plans,” Gonzalez said.
He said the MMDA will also deploy tow trucks and emergency vehicles to ensure that any stalled vehicle will be immediately towed so as not to affect traffic flow.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino has ordered the suspension of the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program or the “number-coding scheme” starting October 31 to November 2 in the metropolis.
Nlex, SCTEx brace for Undas heavy traffic
METRO Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) on Sunday assured motorists that smooth traffic would be maintained at the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) when travel to and from the provinces peak for the traditional Undas exodus.
MPTC President and Chief Executive Officer Ramoncito Fernandez said their operating arm, Tollways Management Corp., “will be in a better position this year to address the influx of motorists before and after Undas.”
Fernandez said measures have been in place to ensure that traffic remains manageable even at the height of the exodus, including the full implementation of the Nlex’s Automatic Vehicle Locator System (AVLS). The AVLS is a program that tracks down the exact position of traffic patrol vehicles in real time. It will come in handy in determining which vehicle can come to the rescue of motorists in need in the shortest time possible.
As usual, outbound traffic is expected to build up by at least 10 percent in the run-up to Undas and by about the same volume during the post-Halloween rush back to Metro Manila.
To cope with the expected swell in the number of northbound vehicles, the Nlex will beef up its field force at the major toll plazas, specifically in Balintawak, Caloocan City; Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga, and on Mindanao Avenue, Quezon City, on October 28 to 30.
Ambulant tellers and temporary toll booths would be deployed in these areas, along with counterflow measures to ensure speedy passage of vehicles.
The same scheme would be adopted on November 1 to 3 for the benefit of southbound vehicles returning home after spending All Saints’ Day in the provinces.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo Franco, president of the Manila North Tollways Corp., concessionaire of the Nlex, said maintenance works on the expressway will be suspended from October 28 to November 2 except those being done on the roadside where safety repairs are required. It is expected that most newly repaired and resurfaced portions of Nlex will be opened to traffic.
Median barriers will be opened in case there is a need for counter flow, while additional lanes will also be opened in both Bocaue and Dau.
At the SCTEx, scheduled repairs and routine maintenance will also be stopped to give way to the expected increase in traffic volume. Additional manpower and equipment will be deployed to ensure smooth travel going to Tarlac, Pampanga, Bataan and Subic Bay.
Las Piñas City Mayor Vergel Aguilar, meanwhile, directed the local police in coordination with barangay officials to implement vehicular rerouting to maintain the smooth flow of traffic, as well as peace and order in cemeteries and other crowded places during the observance ofAll Saints’ Day.
Aguilar said policemen and medical first- aid personnel will be deployed in cemeteries and other areas starting October 31 up to November 2 to assist those who will troop to the cemeteries.
A rerouting scheme should be devised for visitors who will bring their own cars to ease traffic congestion, he said.
He directed Senior Supt. Romulo Sapitula, Las Piñas police chief, to assign policemen at the main entrance of the cemeteries to conduct inspection and ensure that no bladed weapons and liquor are brought within the vicinity.
Deadly or bladed weapons, alcoholic beverages and stereos, among others, are strictly prohibited in the city’s cemeteries.
Aguilar, likewise, called on the faithful to pray and remember the dead without polluting the environment and help in maintaining cleanliness in the surroundings.
“I appeal to the faithful to remember and pray for our dearly departed in a way that will not worsen the garbage problem in our communities,” he added.
(With Joe Pavia)
