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On reducing deaths due to road crashes
Following is a link to an article on the increase in road crash-related deaths in Singapore. The city state prides itself as one of the safest places in terms of transportation yet road crash deaths recently hit a 10-year high.
From the article:
“Cellphone-related driving violations surged 39.1% to 4,193 cases, the report showed. Motorcyclists, who make up just 15% of Singapore’s vehicle population, accounted for 54.8% of all traffic accidents and 53% of fatalities.
Speeding violations jumped 25.9% to 253,550 cases, equivalent to roughly 695 motorists caught daily. While speeding-related fatal accidents dipped from 46 to 41, red-light running accidents surged 27.1% to 122, resulting in seven deaths. Drink-driving accidents fell from 166 to 156, but the number of fatal drink-driving accidents held steady at 12 in both years…
…”Road safety requires a culture of mutual respect and graciousness among all road users,” the police force said. “Simple acts of courtesy, such as maintaining a safe following distance of at least three seconds, giving way to pedestrians, reducing speed near junctions and being patient during peak hours, can create a better road culture.” “
What can we learn from Singapore’s experience? Are we capable and equipped to improve road safety in the Philippines? Can we be more courteous, respectful and gracious in the way we drive or behave as road users?
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On at-grade crossings and footbridges
Here’s a quick share of an article on how at-grade crossings are generally better and preferred over footbridges:
When Footbridges Cost Lives and At-Grade Crossings Save Them
The article effectively articulates the case for at-grade crossings and presents the facts and references in support of these crossings. I will only add here that context is still important along with an appreciation or understanding of the volume of traffic and occupancy of vehicles along the roads. Commonwealth Avenue, for example, requires footbridges but there should be better designs for these footbridges than the current ones along this highway. I think we lack good designs that we can refer to and this leads to a summary dismissal of footbridges where they are actually most suitable.
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A quick note on road safety parks
A new road safety park is to open today in Muntinlupa City in Metro Manila. While the objectives of the park appear to be clear enough to most people, I’ve seen some unusual reactions vs. the park. Instead of stating my piece about this and road safety parks, I will just share a couple of links on similar facilities in two countries in our region where road safety is strongly advocated not just by private citizens but by their governments:
Road Safety Park in Singapore: https://www.torque.com.sg/features/singapores-road-safety-community-park-was-built-30-years-ago/
Traffic Garden (Taman Lalu Lintas) in Malaysia: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BF8ruywsZ/
You can also try to Google other road safety parks or gardens in other countries to see other examples of these and how other cities have utilized the parks to promote road safety especially among children. It is better to learn about these parks and perhaps recommend how these can help rather than start shooting from the hip to discredit these and their proponents.
[Note: The MMDA has a road safety park in Manila that is patterned after the Malaysian and Singapore examples.]
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On road clearing and towing of illegally parked vehicles
The MMDA conducted road clearing operations along Katipunan Avenue this Tuesday. To be exact, they towed illegally parked vehicles in the area. We saw a fleet of tow trucks lined along C.P. Garcia Avenue prior to the operations.
There are many illegally parked vehicles along Katipunan and the side streets to it. It is partly due to parking minimums (as stipulated in the National Building Code) not being followed and mainly because of the dependence on cars and high car ownership attributed to residents there.
Operations like this by the MMDA or LGUs are important because spaces need to be reclaimed especially for pedestrians. There is of course their main objective of easing traffic along roads whose capacities were decreased by on street parking. Do these streets need to be redesigned? Maybe but not now considering the resources required for transformation. It’s not as easy as the examples being peddled on social media.
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On the chronic congestion along Ortigas Avenue Extension
I previously wrote about the counterflow scheme along Ortigas Avenue Extension. While this is usually implemented during the mornings. A similar scheme is not applied in the afternoons or evenings. Apparently, the directional distribution in the afternoons and evenings is not suitable for a counterflow scheme. The photos below show the typical eastbound traffic as seen from the Manggahan Floodway bridge.
Typical weekday evening traffic along Ortigas Avenue Extension
The photos show that the traffic along the opposing direction (westbound) is as heavy as the eastbound traffic. This means a counterflow scheme similar to that in the mornings cannot be implemented during this period.
I have mentioned in the previous article that the corridor already required a mass transit system since the 1980s. Despite the operations of several bus companies over the past decades, these have not been enough (together with jeepneys and vans) to serve the demand along the corridor. It is not uncommon to find so many people stranded along the corridor and waiting to get a ride even during the early mornings. While Lines 2, 3 and 7 were being constructed, people in Rizal who have long endured the traffic along Ortigas Avenue Extension could only wonder why a transit system has not been provided for them. Will the proposed Line 4 be finally constructed? When will it be completed? What could be the traffic impacts of construction considering the limited space available for the construction? Should commuters prepare for more miserable travel once construction is underway?
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After getting engrossed with EDSA, is Marcos Highway next?
If you monitored the news articles and social media post over the past two decades, there seems to be an obsession for EDSA. Circumferential Road 4 is the busiest corridor in Metro Manila, stretching across several jurisdictions including Caloocan, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati and Pasay City. Aside from the MMDA, national agencies like the DPWH and DOTr have been heavily involved in traffic schemes and transportation infrastructure development along the corridor. These include variants of the travel demand management (TDM) scheme commonly called number coding. Since the 1990s, there’s the Line 3 and several overpasses/flyovers and underpass that have been constructed along major intersections (e.g., EDSA-Shaw, EDSA-Ortigas, EDSA-Kamuning, EDSA-Quezon Avenue, etc.). Nowadays, people are more into the EDSA carousel and most recently the pavement rehabilitation for EDSA. It seems we failed to realize that EDSA is just one corridor. There are others that also demand attention including those in other parts of the country.
Recently, a “carmaggedon” along Marcos Highway was in the headlines or shall I say was trending in social media. There was a lot of excitement for what has been a recurring nightmare to those residing along the corridor. I recall something worse occurred more than 15 years ago (pre-Ondoy), before social media and influencers and digital creators. At the time, Line 2 terminated at Santolan Station. And even back then, the MMDA insisted on playing with their U-turn scheme. I don’t recall a more in-depth study that could have involved micro-simulation modeling being done for the corridor. And since then, populations and traffic have grown steadily and as I’ve written about previously, the extension of Line 2 to Masinag seems to have had little impact on traffic. And so here we are with the MMDA still insisting on tweaking their U-turn schemes and relying mainly on gut-feel instead of a more scientific approach that may actually lead to more sound solutions for the corridor.
Approach to Marcos Highway from Felix Avenue – that’s the elevated Line 2 superstructure behind the Cainta arch.
Intersection of Marcos Highway, Felix Avenue and Gil Fernando Avenue – there’s a major foot bridge installed here so people can cross at the intersection, which used to be a signalized junction before the MMDA opted for U-turns for Marcos Highway sections under its jurisdiction.
Marcos Highway section fronting the Ayala Feliz Mall – the MMDA has played with the location of the U-turn slots in the vicinity of the Marcos Highway-Amang Rodriguez-J.P. Rizal intersection as they tried to determine the “optimum” locations of these slots.
Of course, there is also the case of Commonwealth Avenue. How many carmaggedons have occurred along that corridor? Isn’t it an everyday thing there? And there’s also Ortigas Avenue Extension and many other roads and streets where congestion seems to have been accepted as the norm. How do we make travel easier for most people? How do we improve commutes given the constraints and realities concerning behavior and choices?
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Complicated intersections in Rizal – Tikling Junction
There are several major intersections in Rizal Province. Among them are 3 junctions in Cainta, Taytay and Antipolo – Cainta Junction (Ortigas Ave Ext.-Felix Ave), Masinag Junction (Marcos Highway-Sumulong Highway), and Tikling or Kaytikling Junction. The first two are signalized intersections. The last one is supposed to be a roundabout. All three are problematic in various ways and have been associated with congestion along the major roads intersecting at these junctions.
Tikling is quite interesting as traffic seems to have worsened after it was set up as a roundabout. Taytay enforcers have been deployed here but they seem to contribute more to worsening congestion rather than easing it. Motorists familiar with the area will tell you that traffic is better when there are no enforcers. Unfortunately, not all motorists here are from the area or are familiar with the rules for navigating or positioning at a roundabout. And so the intersection is often constricted with vehicles whose drivers and riders don’t practice courtesy.
Perhaps a combination of geometric improvements and more clever enforcement/management can improve intersection performance?
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Senseless road crashes
My staff shared the following cctv footage of a recent road crash along C.P. Garcia Avenue just across the College of Science Complex in UP Diliman. The videos show two vehicles colliding along the road at nighttime. This is usually a busy road with traffic to and from Katipunan, mostly comprised of travelers associated with the schools I the area.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17MPeJnrCk/
The black SUV appears to be speeding and suddenly veered towards the opposing lane where it collided with another vehicle. It is unclear if the driver lost control of the vehicle or was aware of what he was doing. That cost 2 lives as both drivers reportedly died from the crash.
This is among those crashes that can be regarded as senseless incidents. This could have been avoided if the driver was not speeding in the first place or perhaps was not influenced by any factor like alcohol or drugs. Perhaps it’s really about the behavior of certain motorists who shouldn’t have licenses to drive in the first place? We commonly refer to them as kamote drivers or riders. The LTO should do their part in ridding the roads of these menaces.
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Words of wisdom from the back of a taxicab
I was driving home from work one evening last week and was behind this taxi. As we were practically stopped due to the evening rush traffic jam, I was able to take this photo of a quote from the Bible that was displayed on a board installed behind the cab:
It is a very apt quote especially in these times when corruption is everywhere in the news.
The quote also reminded me of the families of those alleged to have been involved in corrupt practices. All those social media posts by the so-called nepo children of politicians, government officials and contractors bring these relatives in the fray, in the forefront of discussions. Are they innocent or be treated as so (based on the opinions of some people)? Or are they themselves guilty and even complicit of the corruption their parents are involved in? My take is that if the children are of toddler age or younger, then they shouldn’t be involved or shamed. They definitely do not know and not aware of what’s going on. But for the older children who are traveling, shopping and enjoying ill-gotten wealth, that’s a different story, even if they are still below 18 years old. They are aware. They already know of their excesses. Perhaps they have already been indoctrinated by their elders about their status and privilege, and think these are okay. Indeed, entire households can be liable and should suffer the consequences of their actions and excesses.
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Caught (up) in traffic 