OF all the traffic-easing schemes of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, the most successful would be the U-Turn project on Quezon Avenue from Freedom Circle up to the Quezon Memorial Circle.
It is a drive without traffic lights except for the one at the intersection of Araneta Avenue.
At some U-Turn slots one may encounter some heavy traffic, but they are nothing like the traffic snarls of old.
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The rationale behind the U-Turn slots is that traffic can no longer be handled by the ill-trained traffic aides and that the Metro Manila motorist whose knowledge of road courtesy is nil is best left to his own devices.
By blocking all intersections and replacing them with U-Turn slots, traffic aides are eliminated.
Buses and jeepneys continue to mess up traffic flow in some areas of U-Turn slots, but these are not like the snarls of two years ago when each intersection was a traffic problem, thanks to unsynchronized traffic lights and the blocking moves of buses.
When traffic lights are one block apart and are not synchronized so that when the lights are green just as the others turn red, you have the snarls.
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Today the MMDA has announced it would put up loading platforms for buses.
Would these be somewhat like bus stops of which the entire metropolis has none?
In other countries, each bus stop is for buses running certain routes. Commuters wishing to take these routes, gather at the proper bus station.
This effectively segregates buses with differing routes. It makes for an orderly gathering of commuters.
Bus stops, however, are not terminal points. In other countries, a bus takes only seconds to let off and take on passengers. Can the MMDA make our buses do this at its loading platforms?
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The MMDA should revive its anti-jaywalking campaign.
Its idea of using a truck with a wet blanket hanging over the side to persuade people standing on the street to step back onto the sidewalk was shot down by those who called it anti-people.
With that, jaywalking is institutionalized. People can continue standing on the street instead of the sidewalk. They can cross streets at any point.
Finally, the MMDA should train a corps of traffic enforcers to replace the traffic aides. These enforcers would be like the traditional traffic policemen of a quarter century ago. They have to be professional.
Traffic problems cannot be solved with the use of traffic aides.
