A TEAM of experts from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) arrived in the city Monday to assess the traffic situation in the city and provide technical assistance to the City Traffic and Transport Management Office (CTTMO).
The assessment will serve as the basis for formulating a traffic management plan and a capacity-building training course for CTTMO personnel aimed at improving the traffic management system in the city and enhancing day-to-day traffic conditions.
The study of the team is expected to be completed by the end of the week, and the resulting traffic management plan and capacity-building training course will be presented to the local government by March.
The two agencies said their collaboration will ensure that the people of the city can look forward to an improved traffic management system that will help ease congestion and make transportation more efficient in the city.
Engr. Neomie Recio, MMDA Traffic Engineering Center director and leader of the delegation, said that a thorough study of the current traffic situation is vital to determine whether the current traffic management system enforced by the CTTMO requires a complete overhaul or just recalibration in policy, technology, or design.
Recio emphasized the importance of cooperation between the MMDA and the CTTMO in order to ensure the success of the traffic management plan and capacity-building training course.
“Kaya kailangan na nating gumuwa ng paraan so gawan natin ng traffic management plan itong Davao City para hindi siya matulad sa Manila na kumbaga ngayon pa tayo kikilos eh andiyan na,” she said, pointing out that some areas are congested, particularly the traffic intersections.
The MMDA team also expressed their appreciation for the warm welcome extended to them by the local government officials and the hospitality of the people of Davao City.
She believes that such congestion is a sign of development. She emphasized that Davao City’s traffic system is bound to get more complex as the city continues to grow, necessitating an effective traffic management plan.
The 15-member team is from three MMDA divisions: the Traffic Planning and Design Division, Traffic Signal Operation and Maintenance Division, and Traffic Education Division (the accompanying photograph is from the City Government of Davao Facebook page).
They will conduct a study on the city’s traffic and transportation schemes to determine gaps in design, technology, policy, and other aspects of traffic management. The team will gather data via traffic count, road inventory survey, ocular inspection of existing traffic signal facilities, and focus group discussions on the formulation of a capacity-building training course. The MMDA team aims to propose the training course to the local government by March.
The five-day program will assess the three central disciplines in traffic management, namely traffic engineering, traffic enforcement, and traffic education. CTTMO head Dionisio Abude identified 10 areas with the most traffic congestion in the city to be subject to the MMDA-led study. These areas are Matina Crossing, Catalunan Grande, C.P. Garcia, Sandawa intersection, Quirino-Pichon, Quirino-Ponciano, San Pedro-Quirino, McArthur Highway—Maa, Panacan, and Malagamot.
Dionisio Abude, CTTMO head, said the city government requested the MMDA’s assistance in determining what needs to be done in Davao City, and whatever the MMDA finds in their studies and recommendations, the CTTMO will adopt. He said that Davao City needs help from other advanced cities, like Metro Manila, considering the need for a traffic management plan.
“As of now, we need help from other advanced cities, just like in Metro Manila, considering we need a traffic management plan. I requested the MMDA to help us na makita kung unsa ang kailangan sa Davao. So with that, kung unsa ilang data og ilang recommendation, i-adopt nato,” said Abude.
