One policy that we really look forward to is the pay parking scheme to be finally implemented on Jan. 1, 2020. It is part of the 2012 law that amended Ordinance No. 153-A-1990, which charges a fee for parking on certain streets in Davao City.
San Pedro, Ilustre, Monteverde, Iñigo, Pelayo, Duterte, Villa Abrille will serve as laboratories to test how the ordinance will be implemented.
The pay parking will be imposed from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. starting Monday to Saturday. Trucks and large vehicles pay P100 for the first two hours and P20 for succeeding hours. Meanwhile, light vehicles will be charged P20 for the first two hours and another P10 for each succeeding hour. The city collects P5 for the first two hours for motorcycles and P1 thereafter.
The City Transport and Traffic Management Office is tasked to designate and mark portions of the streets that will serve as public pay parking zones. There is no parking meter yet, but the city will train 80 traffic enforcers who will be assigned to issue receipts or tickets in case of violations.
Traffic czar Dionisio Abude said that bicycle racks will also be installed on the pilot streets. Owners will pay P2 for the first two hours, and P1 for the succeeding hours. That is a small price to pay considering that your bicycle will be secure.
However, with barely a month to go before the pay parking scheme will be implemented, we have yet to see bicycle racks installed along San Pedro and Ilustre, two very busy streets, especially during rush hour. Meanwhile, we assume that the marks will be painted along the gutter for parallel parking, but we still have not seen one.
Maybe the CTTMO is busy with the activities of Pasko Fiesta, as well as the Christmas rush, which already resulted in traffic gridlocks on major thoroughfares. But the government-sponsored activity will culminate on Dec. 31, during the Torotot festival.
Would they even have enough time to make all the preparations for the smooth implementation of the pay parking ordinance?
We suggest that the CTTMO should also be stricter with vehicles parked on the curb, blocking pedestrians’ paths, as well as on the roads itself. Also, the city should invest in more tow trucks and clamps to deter motorists from wantonly parking their vehicles anywhere else to the convenience of everybody else. Also, a change is in order to increase the penalties for traffic violations.
We really want this new scheme to succeed. Hopefully, the pay parking scheme is just a start to bring back order on our streets.
