Celso orders truck ban effective today
In an effort to address the city’s perennial traffic problem compounded by the ongoing road repairs, Mayor Celso Lobregat has directed the traffic enforcers to ban cargo trucks from plying the city’s main thoroughfares during peak hours effective today.
Mayor Lobregat issued his verbal order (pending issuance of an executive order on Monday) to City Administrator Antonio Orendain Jr. and Police Traffic chief Insp. Richard Salangit during a meeting yesterday afternoon with owners and representatives from the different trucking and hauling companies in the city.
Under the mayor’s order, six-wheeler cargo trucks (5000 tons and above) and all other container vans shall not be allowed to ply any and all their routes from 6 o’clock to 9 o’clock in the morning and 4 o’clock to 7 o’clock in the afternoon starting today.
Specifically, no cargo truck and cargo container vans shall be allowed to ply during the above-mentioned peak hours on the stretches of Gov. Camins Ave., Veterans Ave., Gen. Vicente Alvarez St., San Jose Gusu leading to and from San Roque and the west coast routes.
Lobregat is expected to issue an executive order on this regard on Monday. In the meantime, no arrest shall be made yet on violators starting today until Sunday. They will just be warned, but when an executive order shall have been issued violators will be arrested and fined.
The chief executive stressed that the truck ban will remain in full force temporarily, however, (until further notice) to ease up the flow of vehicular traffic, especially during peak hours when students and employees are rushing for schools and offices in the morning and going home in the afternoon.
Lobregat lamented that the traffic snarls have been aggravated by the many road repairs being implemented by the District Engineer’s Office. Most of the repair works are either ongoing or in curing period between 14 and 20 days.
It was further noted during the meeting held in City Hall that cargo trucks and container vans usually compete with private vehicles and public conveyances during peak hours as most of them are also serving the different shipping firms. These trucks usually rush to and from the seaport, thus exacerbating traffic on roads leading to the seaport like Veterans, Camins, Nuñez Extension, San Jose Cawa-Cawa, virtually paralyzing traffic on all narrow streets and intersections within the city’s seven-kilometer radius barangays.
Also in attendance during the meeting were Assistant City Administrator Elmer Apolinario, Executive Assistant Caloy Bandaying and Atty. Eduard Fronda of the City Legal Office. (Vic Larato)