The Metro Manila Development Authority announced on Wednesday it will allow trucks to use additional lane along Circumferential Road-5 (C-5 Road) from 12 midnight to 4 a.m. this month to avoid delays of delivery of goods.
The move, according to MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos, came following his meeting with members of the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines last Tuesday.
Orbos said the measure is aimed to facilitate faster transport of delivery trucks in the whole stretch of C-5 Road which has seen a huge increase in the volume of trucks passing through during truck hours.
The MMDA, in close coordination with the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group, is presently implementing a one truck-lane policy along C-5 Road and Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.
But during the meeting held at the MMDA main office in Makati City, CTAP officials led by Alberto Suansing raised the need for an additional truck lane along C-5 Road as the existing one is not enough and has caused delay in the delivery of goods.
The additional truck lane, which shall be the right side of the existing one, shall be implemented as soon as appropriate signages and road markings are completed by the MMDA’s Traffic Engineering Center.
The MMDA and CTAP also agreed on the following:
that the CTAP shall provide their own crane to be used during road emergencies, Conduct of meeting with container yard operators, hold a dialogue with International Container Terminal Service Inc. to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS), even as the MMDA would provide CTAP a list of accredited towing companies and matrix of towing fees and conduct an an ocular inspection along Radial Road-10 (R-10 Road) and Mindanao Avenue within the month.
Orbos pointed out that at no time during the whole day will trucks be allowed to park on any part of C-5 Road and that private vehicles are allowed to use the truck lanes during truck ban hours.
The MMDA imposed the one truck lane scheme after it observed the success of the policy especially in terms of the traffic volume in the area and the reduction of vehicular accidents.
Before the agency implemented the policy, there was an estimated 27 accidents daily along C-5 Road and Katipunan Avenue.
Under the scheme, all cargo trucks with a gross weight of more than 4,500 kilos will only be allowed to use the roads’ innermost lane every day, including Sundays and Holidays, from 10 am to 5 pm and from 10 pm to 6 am.
The MMDA also closed the U-turn slots along C-5 Road and Katipunan Avenue except those located under flyovers and replaced them with signalized intersections.
Violators will be fined P2,000 and the MMDA shall recommend the blacklisting truck firms of erring drivers.
In 2014, Jericho Go, senior vice president of Megaworld Corp., praised the MMDA for implementing the policy, saying the travel time from Katipunan Avenue to Eastwood City down to 10 minutes, and motorists coming from Cubao can reach the township in less than 20 minutes.
He also said it takes 20 minutes to go to Eastwood City from Fort Bonifacio, a journey that usually lasts for at least an hour for a long time before the MMDA implemented its synchronized traffic light system on several intersections along C-5, including Calle Industria, Greenmeadows, Lanuza and Eastwood City.
Go said the implementation of the new scheme has produced immediate results with more motorists reporting that their travel time going to Eastwood City has been reduced by more than half.