ILOILO City – Mayor-elect Jerry Treñas will push through with the intelligent transport system (ITS) that former mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog proposed in 2017 but which Mayor Jose Espinosa III put on hold. Such a system could help prevent fatal road accidents, Treñas told Panay News.
Early Saturday morning a couple of joggers were hit by a speeding sports car on Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue, one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city located in the bustling district of Mandurriao. They died of severe head and body injuries.
It could have been avoided had there been safety measures in place, said Treñas.
An ITS involves the use of closed-circuit television cameras capable of determining the speed of vehicles (if they are overspeeding) and of recording them. It would also entail the establishment of a command/monitoring center.
Mabilog thought of having an ITS for the city to address traffic congestion, stop illegal parking and curb reckless driving that mostly result to vehicular accidents.
He said an ITS would discourage drivers from disregarding traffic rules and regulations, and it would also help law enforcers to easily identify and catch violators.
In January 2017 Mabilog formed a technical working group and the city government allotted P25 million for the system.
But in October 2017 Mabilog was dismissed from the service by the Office of the Ombudsman for unexplained wealth. Then vice mayor Espinosa who assumed Mabilog’s post put the project on hold.
Going ahead with the ITS without a comprehensive study on the city’s traffic situation would not be an intelligent move, explained Espinosa.
It was unclear, though, if Espinosa ordered a comprehensive study right after suspending his predecessor’s project.
“I want to really look at it sa perspective sang practicability, acquisition of equipment…it is a big amount kag basi wala man may mabulig sa aton traffic,” Espinosa was quoted to have said when he announced the suspension of the ITS project.
Aside from the ITS revival, Treñas said he already sought the help of the Metro Manila Development Authority to “professionalize” Iloilo City’s traffic aides.
There would be a memorandum of agreement for this, he said.
As proposed by Mabilog, the first phase of the ITS would be on the Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue because this highway is prone to vehicular accidents due to overspeeding drivers.
Phase II would be on the coastal road, Phase III on the McArthur Highway Drive going to the municipality of Leganes, Iloilo and Phase IV on the Circumferential Road going to Oton, Iloilo.
Treñas will formally start serving as city mayor on June 30. But eager to hit the ground running, he is meeting today the head of the city’s Public Safety and Transportation Management Office, Jeck Conlu, and officials of the local Department of Public Works and Highways to discus ways to minimize if not completely avoid road accidents.
Saturday’s road accident on Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue also revived calls for the enforcement of the ordinance setting speed limits to vehicles on certain city streets.
Ordinance No. 2015-283 – in line with Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code – was approved on June 2, 2015, but it was only implemented two years after, with the Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue as pilot site.
But it was suspended after just a few weeks of enforcement; there were calls for amendments, citing the impracticality of the maximum speed limits set on certain streets./PN
No parking area inside Esplanade. That’s why the couple opted to park at St Joseph School opposite Esplanade.