Roads to Baguio: Marcos Highway – Part 1
In my recent trip to Baguio, I made sure to take new photos of roads particularly the major ones that made that city in the mountains accessible. Of course, one objective was also to have an updated selection for my highway engineering lectures. Following are the first batch of photos I took of Marcos Highway last June 2016. I won’t be writing a caption for many of these photos as well as those in the succeeding batches. I’ll just put these here for others to refer to whether for practical uses or for research.
I found it unusual to see double yellow along a relatively straight and level section of Marcos Highway. It is perhaps a section where there have been a significant number of road crashes?
There are many roads built to provide access to areas previously uninhabited but now have houses giving some spectacular mountain views.
There are rumble strips along many sections of the highway; seemingly there to wake up travelers that where getting sleepy.
It can get quite foggy along the highway
Old barriers look sturdy enough to prevent heavy vehicles from falling off the highway.
One end of the viaduct alongside the mountains
There are communities in many places in the mountains along the highway. Access would be via local roads, some of which are private roads.
I thought perhaps bridges and viaducts in the Philippines should have shoulders and more generous space for pedestrians.
The van in the photo enters the highway from one of the many driveways and local roads connecting to the national highway.
What appears to be a tunnel for many people is actually a roof structure to protect travellers and the road from landslides.
During the day, it is bright inside the structure given the openings along one side of the highway.
The light at the end of the tunnel?
More photos in Part 2 coming up soon.
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Line 2 to be transformed into a BRT? Definitely not a good idea!
There are news reports stating that the Department of Transportation (DoTr) is considering replacing the LRT Line 2 with a BRT instead. I think this is not something worth considering at this point since the construction of the Line 2 extension from Santolan to Masinag is already underway. Also, there is the fact that Line 2 is the only heavy rail system among the three LRT/MRT lines in Metro Manila. It has the potential to have the highest capacity among the three as well as the potential to have the highest ridership especially after the extension is complete and the two additional stations are operational.
With lots of people requiring public transport beyond Masinag, the question is not whether to convert Line 2 into a BRT but instead what services can be provided for a more efficient system for Rizal and Marikina. I took the following photos along my commute from Antipolo to Quezon City. Note the number of people waiting for public transport along Marcos Highway.
These are people who would typically take jeepneys or UV Express for their commutes. It is obvious from my regular observations that jeepneys and UV Express cannot cover the demand for public transportation and my opinion is that it is high time to introduce a higher capacity and more efficient mode in order to encourage people to keep taking public transport and to encourage those taking private transport to shift to PT.
A BRT service can be connected to Line 2. Since the Line 2 extension to Masinag is scheduled to be completed next year and be operational by third quarter of 2017, a bus service can already be piloted between Santolan and several end points. Four for consideration would be Cogeo, Antipolo Simbahan, Marikina and Cainta.
- Cogeo should be a no-brainer given that there is already demand there and this is growing rapidly with all the subdivisions being developed in this area.
- For Antipolo Simbahan, perhaps the final stop need not be at the shrine but at Robinsons Antipolo.
- For Marikina, there can be three lines – one branching from Ligaya where there is a major Ayala development, a second at Gil Fernando and another at Masinag. These may terminate at the city center, perhaps in the vicinity of the Rodriguez Sports Complex, which is near the Marikina City Hall and public market.
- The last line could traverse Felix Avenue (Imelda Avenue) and may terminate at Cainta Junction where commuters can transfer to transport along Ortigas Avenue Extension.
Surely, pilot services can be provided where limited stops or express services can be experimented on to see what clicks in terms of ridership. It would be nice to get feedback about such services and hopefully there will be champions for these bus services. Note that such services terminating at Santolan means that there should be terminal facilities in that area. Former MMDA Chair and now Marikina Congressman Bayani Fernando has developed an area precisely for an eastern transport terminal and so bus services present a good opportunity for this terminal to be a busy one. Maybe BF can champion these bus services? And perhaps the Antipolo and Cainta (paging Mayors Ynares and Nieto!) can also push for these services as commuters from these would stand to benefit the most from a good transport system.
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TSSP 23rd Annual Conference Proceedings
The 23rd Annual Conference of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP) was held at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman last August 8, 2016. It was hosted by the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS), which for some time was practically inactive in its dealings with the society. The conference was a very successful one with more than 170 participants, mostly students from the undergraduate programs of Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), De La Salle University (DLSU) and UP Diliman.
The Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference contains 22 technical papers, which I have already listed in a previous post showing the technical program for the conference. The link is to the current website of the TSSP hosted by NCTS. Those wishing to have copies of the papers may download them directly from the link. Meanwhile, those interested in the presentations should contact the authors. Their contact information are stated in the paper and it is ethical to get the nod of the authors for their presentation file as these still fall under what can be defined as their intellectual property. I am aware of people who tend to get presentation slides and then pass them of as their work when they use the slides or the data/information therein. There are proper ways for citations of references and sources but sadly such ways are not observed by many.
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Another look at the Tacloban Airport
The Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City is the busiest in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas). Tacloban being the regional center in terms of commerce/business, attracts significant air traffic and should continue to do so as it steadily recovers from the devastation brought about by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). Following are photos of the airport from our recent trip to Leyte, where we had meetings in Tacloban and Ormoc.
Passengers arrive at the Tacloban Airport
Philippine Airlines turboprop aircraft arriving at the airport
Cebu Pacific passengers disembarking from the plane
Passengers waiting for the checked-in luggage at the carousel
Passengers file out of the arrival area unto the terminal’s driveway and parking lot
Visitors may inquire about the Tacloban at the city’s information desk located at the arrival area.
Sign of a rent-a-car service at the airport showing rental options and available vehicle models.
Crowded check-in area at the Tacloban airport passenger terminal
There were long queues at the check-in counters as well as the payment booths for the terminal fee.
We entered a very crowded departure area as flights were delayed and people accumulated at the terminal. These are Air Asia passengers.
These are Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific passengers. Notice the temporary wall behind which is a section of the departure area that’s being renovated.
Shops at the departure area sell souvenirs and food items including local delicacies like moron and binagol.
The airport terminal is already very congested and it doesn’t help that flights are frequently delayed for various reasons. In the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), there have been proposals to move the airport to another location. However, it now seems that there is no better location for this within the city and elsewhere in the province. There are opportunities and potential though to improve the current airport and perhaps make it more resilient against typhoons of the scale of Yolanda.
The proposed new passenger terminal building is already much delayed and the runway can be extended. The latter is now possible with the areas for the extension already cleared of informal settlers mainly due to these areas being ravaged by Yolanda and authorities not permitting people to rebuild their houses there.
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TSSP 2016 Conference Program
I am sharing the banner and final program for the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines 23rd Annual Conference to be held on Monday, August 8, 2016. The final program features a Keynote Speech by the Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Anneli R. Lontoc, a Panel Discussion on Road Safety, and technical sessions in the afternoon.
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Walking is good for you!
I found the following graphic on social media (Facebook). It shows the benefits of walking, particularly 30 minutes of walking per day. There are many studies that have established the benefits of what is now termed as ‘active transport’ that includes walking and cycling to promote healthy communities and cities. If only our communities and cities are more walkable then perhaps more people can be encouraged to walk more and there will be a reduction of motor vehicle traffic. The latter will be those vehicles used for short distance trips that are typically associated with distances suitable for walking rather than riding or using a motor vehicle.
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Straddling bus prototype?
What was peddled as a unique public transport mode concept in social media is now a reality. Check out the article and video here:
China’s Futuristic Straddling Bus Is Finally Here
This is a welcome development for public transportation. However, some issues need to be addressed, particularly regarding road safety. Motorists traveling under the straddling bus may have reactions to the vehicle as it passes above them and such may lead to road crashes. Of course, with the advent of driverless vehicles such incidents may be minimised if not altogether eliminated.
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TSSP 2016 Conference: Tentative Program
I am sharing below the tentative program for the 23rd Annual Conference of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP):
Soon, I will post on the list of papers to be presented for the Technical Sessions to be held in the afternoon part of the one-day conference.
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TSSP 2016 Conference – August 8, 2016
I start August with an announcement, promoting the 23rd Annual Conference of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP). The theme of this year’s conference is “What Gets Measured, Gets Managed: Transportation, Data and Statistics.” The conference will have a panel discussion in the morning and parallel technical sessions in the afternoon.
The topic for the panel discussion is “Road Safety Data: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities”. Confirmed are resource persons from the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Global Road Safety Partnership Philippines. The session will feature presentations and reactions on agency or organization initiatives on road safety with emphasis on road safety data. An open forum will immediately follow for the audience to be able to participate in the discussions.
The afternoon will feature 4 parallel technical sessions where selected papers will be presented. These would be the output of researches from leading universities including the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University and Mapua Institute of Technology. I will post on the paper titles as soon as I get a copy of the program.
The one-day conference will be held at the National Center for Transportation Studies at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
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Seemingly minor violations that affect traffic and safety
The following photo shows one of the many minor violations that happen everyday along many roads and particularly at intersections. Motorcyclists and drivers frequently occupy spaces that are supposed to be clear of vehicles. The motorcycles and AUV below occupy the pedestrian crossing that is typically space for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the intersection. Both vehicles also are encroaching upon the intersection’s yellow box, which can be risky given that the intersection is signalised and other vehicles are given the right of movement according to the cycle settings of the intersection.
This and others like it are what seems to be minor incidents but in truth have a combining or cumulative effect on traffic streams that contribute to congestion as well as having implications on road safety. Pedestrians and cyclists are forced to go around the vehicles blocking their paths, likely putting them in harm’s way. Other motorists try to avoid these errant vehicles, which, like in the photo, may be blocking the path of vehicles proceeding towards the intersection leg to the right that is hidden in the picture. Motorists doing this must be apprehended by traffic officers/enforcers as these are clear violations of traffic rules. If one is to promote discipline among road users, then it should start with minor violations that tend to be disregarded by traffic enforcers.
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Caught (up) in traffic 