BACOLOD City – The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) expressed support to the implementation of car-free Sundays for the whole month of June, or beginning June 9, on Lacson Street in this city.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of MBCCI, said car-free Sunday is a brilliant idea.
“We like it. The business group likes it. Besides every Sunday from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. is considered ‘dead hours’”, he added.
Earlier, the Bacolod Traffic Authority Council (BTAC) approved a resolution on this. It stated that from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. every Sunday of June, vehicles are prohibited along the 1.2-kilometer stretch of Lacson Street, or from Ramos North Drive to South Capitol Road.
For his part, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said this initiative is the city’s contribution in protecting the environment, adding it aims to allow pedestrians, joggers and bikers to use the street.
The scheme meanwhile has received mixed reactions, with others saying that Lacson Street is one of the main thoroughfares in the city. They said it will affect the traffic situation because there will be a road closure and rerouting will be implemented.
Secretary to the mayor Karol Joseph Chiu explained that the measure is only for a month, and the regulations for road closure will come from the City Council through the passage of a resolution based on the existing ordinance providing guidelines for road closure./PN
