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Category Archives: Highways and Streets
Barriers at U-turn slots
The MMDA has received a lot of flak from motorists and road safety experts regarding traffic schemes in Metro Manila This is but natural and one can say that “it comes with the territory,” considering that the agency handles much of the traffic management in MM and a lot of criticisms are actually of the nitpicking kind. Some matters, however, while appearing at first to be minor are actually details that should not be missed particularly if the end result may mean a matter of life or death.
Details pertaining to the U-turn slots, for example, are often lost in the big picture approach of looking at the facilities as solutions to problems of congestion. In striving for faster speeds, the case for safety is often overlooked. In striving for continuous flow, the case for disciplined movement at intersections is discarded. And in imposing the scheme along roads not designed for it, the case for sound, safe design is sacrificed. The latter is demonstrated in the case of barriers used to delineate the U-turns, allocating space for turning vehicles while constricting that which is for others. For the barriers to be practically immovable, these were cast in concrete and painted to enhance visibility. In certain cases, reflectors were added to further increase visibility particularly at night-time. Previously, many barriers were made of plastic and filled with water for them to have weight. These eventually gave way to the more durable concrete barriers, although both were of the same shape and size and occupied significant space when laid out.
Recently, the MMDA installed plastic bollards at several U-turn slots, replacing the concrete barriers there. This was a welcome development that allowed the freeing up of space occupied by the massive concrete barriers. Moreover, while delineating the U-turns, the bollards will be more forgiving for motorists who could be involved in crashes involving these. Concrete barriers are not so forgiving and may cause a vehicle to overturn if not stop abruptly and highly likely to be causing serious injuries if not death.
Typical concrete barriers near the foot of the Katipunan flyover across Aurora Boulevard – these are what will greet motorists speeding through the flyover and has been the bane of many who have crashed into these barriers (overspeeding? drunk? sleepy?). The barriers eat-up a significant portion of the middle lane and requiring drivers to swerve to the right and along the path of other vehicles. Plastic bollards have been installed but the concrete barriers remain and still pose dangers to motorists.
Plastic bollards along Katipunan at the U-turn slot across from the Miriam College main gate – these are more forgiving in that it will cause damage to a vehicle but will not stop it on its tracks delivering potentially fatal injuries to occupants. A plastic jersey barrier can be seen at the end of the median island at the left side of the photo. Such were usually filled with water to increase their weights to avoid them from being displaced from their locations.
There are other alternatives that may be installed and not just for U-turns, but also for public transport bays, medians and other applications. Some bollards may be collapsible, recovering (standing right up) after being bumped or ran over by a vehicle. Perhaps the MMDA should look into such options and other details more often while also proactively seeking for suitable, not necessarily novel, solutions to our traffic problems.
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The Marcos Highway predicament
Just when I thought I’ve experienced the worst traffic jams along Ortigas Avenue Extension (De Castro to Junction) last year, I am greeted with even worse congestion along Marcos Highway as 2012 began. I have featured this highway in previous posts first on August 24, 2011, then in September 2, 2011, again in September 13, 2011, and then as late as December 18, 2011, as I have been able to basically monitor the progress of pavement “re-blocking” and drainage works along this highway (I live in a subdivision along the highway.). The project stretches from the Santolan area near the Marikina River to Masinag Junction, and affecting traffic in at least 4 cities (Quezon City, Marikina City, Pasig City and Antipolo City) and 1 major municipality (Cainta). The problem, it seems to me, is that the contractor seems to be behind schedule and is now trying to make up for lost time by practically digging up entire sections of the highway without first finishing the job in other sections they have already started rehabilitating. In fact, there are sections that already have new concrete pavements that are still inaccessible to traffic despite already over 2 weeks of curing time! The concrete barriers preventing vehicles from using these sections occupy about a fourth of the adjacent lanes, contributing to the reduction of what is already limited road capacities for the high volume of traffic along Marcos Highway.
I am aware of the traffic management plan for the highway as it is posted online at the DPWH website. But this is something that is on paper (or online) and one that seems to have been thrown out the window given the discrepancies with what’s on the plan and what we actually see and experience on the ground. The current work along the highway has effectively turned the stretch from Filinvest East to Santolan into a sort of slalom or obstacle course that has led to much inconvenience to commuters and motorists. Factor in the wasted fuel and the resulting emissions due to the congestion and you have economic losses piling up everyday.
I took the following photos I took one late weekday afternoon only this week as I traveled from Masinag to Imelda Avenue. The photos clearly show the work in progress along the highway that has been that main cause of congestion throughout most of the day.
Beginning of section being rehabilitated with work concentrated on a middle lane in front of the Marian Memorial (funeral) Chapels along Marcos Highway. Note the barriers on either side of the lane and the heavy equipment. Notice, too, the few people working on this section. Vehicles will have to split into two streams, one on either side of the affected lane.
End of the lane mentioned in the previous photos. There is a gap between this affected lane and the next one (start is indicated by the red barrier downstream in the photo) allowing vehicles to weave along sections between work sites. The pick-up in the middle of the photo is doing just that – shifting from the shoulder lane to the median lane.
This is again the end of the section Unfinished section is flooded due to the sudden rainfall that afternoon in the area. Many sections have already been filled with base layer material and compacted. However, I am wondering why the contractor has not poured concrete when I reckon it has already taken enough time for consolidation of the base layer. From the same photo above, you can see the beginning of another section under rehab, but this time two lanes (inner lanes) are closed to traffic on one side of the highway. There are 2 other lanes also closed to traffic on the other side of the median island.
Despite the completion of re-blocking for the median lane, it is still closed to traffic. Meanwhile, it has taken a significant amount of time since they dug up the middle lane shown in the photo and where the section should have been ready for concrete but with the water collecting after the sudden rains that afternoon. Notice the hazards posed by the concrete barriers along the highway.
Section along the westbound direction of the highway and across from Town & Country subdivision shows 2 lanes affected by the pavement rehab works and only 2 lanes available to traffic.
It is really quite difficult to offer solutions in this case considering so much work still to be done in order to meet the March 28, 2012 deadline posted on the project billboards along the highway. For one, I do not know exactly what the reasons are for the delay of the project (perhaps a delayed release of funds?) and why the contractor has been unable to deliver according to schedule and plan considering the amount of time that was available to them. I do notice that there seems to be not enough people working on the project and that there seems to be no one working during certain times of the day when traffic is supposed to be lighter and fewer people to inconvenience. I did write that the contractor was doing a decent job in managing traffic before including their good use of counterflows. That was months ago and it seems that the saying “you are only as good as your last performance” applies in this case where people will be scrutinizing the current state of traffic along Marcos Highway.
People do expect though that the combined efforts of the MMDA, local traffic enforcers from Pasig, Marikina and Antipolo, and personnel from the contractor to make a bigger effort to ease (manage?) traffic congestion during the critical periods. It’s very frustrating and disappointing, however, that instead of managing traffic or facilitating flow, most enforcers seem to be engrossed with enforcing the number coding scheme alone. This seems to be the case for Pasig and MMDA enforcers posted at Ligaya and the Metro East vicinity. Perhaps number coding should be the least of their concerns when traffic is already constricted because of their failure to manage the jeepneys clogging the Ligaya area as well as what seems to be a breakdown in the coordination among these enforcers and the contractor of the rehab works along Marcos Highway.
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Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo Road: San Fernando
The Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo (GSO) Road stretches across 4 provinces in Central Luzon. The road starts from the City of Gapan in Nueva Ecija and passes through the towns of San Isidro and Cabiao before crossing into Pampanga through the towns of Sta. Ana, Arayat, and Mexico, and crossing the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and McArthur Highway along the City of San Fernando. After San Fernando, the road heads west through Bacolor, Sta. Rita, Guagua and Lubao. It exits Pampanga from Lubao and to Bataan via Dinalupihan, and finally to Olongapo City in Zambales. It is also known along major stretches as Jose Abad Santos Avenue.
The GSO used to be the only main route towards Bataan and Zambales from the North-South corridor defined by NLEX and McArthur Highway (also known as the Manila North Road). That was prior to the construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), which stretched from Tarlac City in the north and through Concepcion before crossing to Pampanga. The tollway proceeds southwest through Clark (in Mabalacat and Angeles City), the towns of Porac, Floridablanca and eventually crossing into Bataan at Dinalupihan. The SCTEX finally connects to the Subic Freeport Expressway (SFX), which is also known before as the Tipo toll road.
One of the justifications for the Clark-Subic component of the expressway was the need for an alternate route between the industrial centers at Subic, Hermosa, Clark and Tarlac (Luisita?). Unfortunately, the projected rapid developments of those centers were not quite realized and traffic along SCTX remains light for most of the time. Congestion apparently only occurs at the Clark exit where the toll plaza capacity is not enough to accommodate vehicle arrivals. To compound the situation, the national government improved the GSO, increasing its capacity and therefore making this free road a viable alternative to the SCTEX when traveling between Pampanga and Zambales.
Following are photos taken quite recently along the GSO Road and at San Fernando. I will post other photos later, featuring sections along other towns.
Roundabout at the interchange with the NLEX on the west side of the tollway
GSO section leading to what most people think is already San Fernando City proper. The old city center is actually further south along McArthur Highway and is an example of a traditional “bayan” with the municipal/city hall, church and market clustered together.
Overpass along GSO Road over McArthur Highway – prior to the construction of the overpass, traffic junction was the main cause of congestion in the area.
There are actually two overpasses, one beside the other, and each having two lanes and dedicated to one direction of traffic. As can be seen in the photo, there are no shoulders or space for pedestrians. The double yellow also indicates no overtaking along the overpass.
The overpass structure is very similar to those constructed in Malolos, Bulacan and Iloilo City. Similar structures were proposed for a flyover along Quezon Avenue and crossing Araneta Avenue in Quezon City but an underpass is instead being constructed in that area.
After the overpass, travelers pass through an elevated section of the GSO Road. The section was constructed over an embankment that was part of the response on the infrastructure side for disastrous lahar flows of the 1990’s. At the time, many sections of the GSO Road were destroyed by lahar generated by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.
The concrete barriers are quite low and definitely not enough to prevent even a car from taking off from the road (in case of one going out of control) and unto the houses below. The photo above clearly shows how high the carriageway is with respect to the adjacent areas. Notice, too, the narrow strip serving as a shoulder for the road.
8There was significant congestion almost immediately after descending the overpass and along the westbound direction of GSO Road. It took quite a while for us to reach the cause of the congestion – GSO Road’s intersection with Lazatin Boulevard.
The junction is not signalized (no traffic lights) and manned by enforcers who appear to have no formal training in traffic management. I say so since they were applying the “buhos” system of attempting to dissipate queues from each approach (there were 4) without considering that in the process, longer queues were forming along the major road (GSO). Also, it seemed to us that the enforcers were prioritizing traffic along Lazatin when it was obvious that GSO was already congested.
Traffic was practically free-flowing after passing the GSO-Lazatin junction. There were 4 lanes (2 per direction) and sufficient shoulder space on either side of the highway.
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Carlos P. Garcia Avenue
I really haven’t written much about the other segments of Circumferential Road 5 (C-5), choosing to write about the Katipunan Avenue stretch from Aurora Boulevard to Magsaysay Avenue (UP Diliman). C-5 is officially named Carlos P. Garcia Avenue or C.P. Garcia Avenue after the 8th President of the Philippines. C-5 though is more commonly known by its many names for at least 3 long stretches of the road: Katipunan, E. Rodriguez, Jr. Avenue (Boni Serrano Ave. in Quezon City to Pasig Boulevard, Pasig City), and C.P. Garcia Ave. (Pasig Blvd. to SLEX/East Service Road). Following are a few recent photos along C5 along C.P. Garcia Ave. in Taguig.
U-turn flyover at C-5/Kalayaan is among the much maligned projects of a past MMDA administration. There is supposed to be 3 lanes between the columns but the pavement conditions and relatively narrow lanes would usually accommodate only 2 vehicles at a time especially when one is a truck. Should it be demolished to give way to the original scheme proposed by the DPWH for the intersection? The current grade separation project at Quezon Ave./Araneta Ave. will eventually show whether such a scheme could have been better for C5-Kalayaan.
The pink column is a remnant of what used to be a pedestrian overpass at C-5/Kalayaan. There used to be a two span overpass in the area that has since been That’s the second elevated U-turn downstream that is utilized by traffic from Kalayaan (Makati) to Taguig (through traffic if the intersection was not closed to such) and to Pasig (left turn traffic).
Approach to the construction site of an off-ramp/overpass from Bonifacio Global City. The flyover is supposed to ease traffic from BGC to C5-northbound currently concentrated along the overpass at 26th Street and Market! Market!
Close-up of the flyover construction. The temporary columns and barriers in the middle of C5 can be quite tricky even during the day and the space is just enough for 2 cars to fit through the middle lanes. With trucks its again a different situation as they often require more space given the behavior of their drivers encroaching upon the adjacent lanes.
Overpass from Market! Market! and along 26th Street. The pedestrians using the overpass and crossing to and from Target Street in old Taguig are undisciplined and do not follow traffic enforcers at the intersection with the service road. This leads to a high likelihood of pedestrian vs. vehicles collisions due to the conflicts in that area.
The walls at the right side of the highway were constructed to separate C5 from the service roads on either side of the highway. These service roads are notorious for being used by residents of the areas along C5 for parking and jeepneys typically stop anywhere along the road to drop-off or pick-up passengers. Also, there are many incidences of people crossing C5 without care of their safety. Also, there have been cases where some vehicles have been reported to have been stoned by anonymous persons (probably from the informal settlements along the highway). The walls were interventions that are supposed to control such behavior and keep C5 as unimpeded as possible.
Despite objective for the walls, there are many breeches and these result in still a lot of jaywalking across C5 and jeepneys stopping to pick-up/drop-off passengers.
A persistent issue along C5 pertains to the operations of jeepneys along the highway. There is a tendency to congregate at the designated loading/unloading areas that coincide with the pedestrian overpasses along the highway. Jeepneys typically occupy 2 lanes including the shoulder lane adjacent to the wall. The same behavior occurs at wall breeches often causing bottlenecks along the highway.
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Afternoon jam along Katipunan
The northbound direction of Katipunan Avenue is usually congested from mid-day to early afternoons on weekdays. The congestion is caused by several factors including truck traffic and school generated traffic. Katipunan is part of a truck route along which trucks are allowed during the perceived off-peak periods (i.e., not during the morning and afternoon peaks). There are many schools in the area including two major universities (UP and Ateneo), a college (Miriam), and several other schools that generate a lot of vehicular traffic around this time mostly from their grade schools or pre-schools. There are also a lot of activity along the stretch from Ateneo to C.P. Garcia due to the commercial establishments especially the restaurants that attract quite a lot of patrons during the extended lunch period (typically from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM).
Congestion stretches onwards and may reach past the other end of the overpass towards the Blue Ridge area. The 5-lane section (3 from the flyover and 2 from the at-grade section) narrows to 3 lanes at this section to accommodate the U-turn slot past Ateneo’s gate 2 – an classic case of a bottleneck.
The SM Blue condominium construction is visible in the background of this photo. Although the U-turn slot only has about 1.5 lanes worth of space, the concrete barriers cover the remaining space of a lane, thereby reducing effective capacity for the road section.
A tarpaulin sign stating Ateneo’s position questioning Notice the concrete barrier used to delineate the U-turn slot that obviously has seen better days. This location is probably among the most dangerous sections along Katipunan (and C5 in general). This has been site of many fatal road crashes. During early mornings, motorists speeding along Katipunan (uncongested during the unholy hours) and descending the flyover often miscalculate or are suprised by the U-turn slot and its unforgiving barriers. The damage on the barrier in the photo is a “souvenir” of sorts from it being a witness to a crash.
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Muelle del Rio
The Muelle del Rio is a riverside road that stretches from Quezon Blvd. (from the ramp of Quezon Bridge) to Plaza Mexico in Intramuros. The road passes under the McArthur and Jones Bridges that cross the Pasig River, and behind buildings such as the Manila Central Post Office, the National Press Club, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Bureau of Immigration.
The stretch from McArthur Bridge behind the Manila Central Post Office is clear of squatters but there are many garbage, mainly plastics, strewn everywhere. There are people “residing” under McArthur Bridge and these homeless people have only their carts or cardboard boxes to protect them from the elements.
The lamp posts along the road look like they were inspired by the capiz windows of old houses. The homeless include the individual pictured here who was washing clothes using the flowing water from various sources including a leaking water pipe. This section is often flooded during the wet season due in part to its location and elevation with respect to the Pasig River.
The underpass at Jones Bridge is another section that is usually flooded during the wet season. A staircase connects the bridge and the riverside walkway cum park. The bridge is currently mentioned in news reports regarding the film “The Bourne Legacy” that will be shot in Manila. The bridge is an old one and considered a landmark in Manila. It has been the subject of many old photos and has been romanticized in paintings.
Vehicles parked along the linear park across the road from behind the Bureau of Immigration. The park is not supposed to be a parking facility but due to a lack of parking spaces for the Bureau and not too many people using the park anyways, parking was tolerated. Perhaps it is better than having such vehicles occupy precious road space. Further down the road, the red tile roof of a Pasig River Ferry terminal is visible.
The Plaza Mexico Station of the Pasig River Ferry. the Ferry services were suspended last year due to many problems including the lack of passengers.
Plaza Mexico is only a stone’s throw away from the ferry terminal shown in the preceding photo and is already within the walls of Intramuros. Among the historical buildings in the vicinity are the Intendencia, Almacenes and the Aduana, which were buildings from the Spanish Period. Some are currently being restored as part of a heritage initiative in Manila spearheaded by the Intramuros Administration.
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Quezon Ave. – Araneta Ave. underpass
The underpass along Quezon Avenue (Radial Road 7 or R-7) for its intersection with Araneta Avenue (Circumferential Road 3 or C-3) is currently being constructed. The project was approved last year and it designed to relieve congestion at this busy junction of two major thoroughfares. Among the alternatives considered for the intersection was a 4-lane overpass to be constructed along Quezon Avenue similar in design to the overpasses in Iloilo and Cebu cities. One concern, however, that needed to be explained thoroughly by the DPWH to stakeholders, especially the Quezon City government, was the prospect of flooding. The area, particularly the part of Talayan Village, is prone to flooding with water reaching waste-level that can be brought about by heavy rains. It may even be worse for rainfall of the Ondoy or Sendong kind.
The project seems to be proceeding at a good pace with a lot of activities in the past months. Congestion does not seem to be as serious as what had been anticipated, thanks in part to an aggressive campaign that included information on alternative routes for motorists. Still, it is recommended for the motorist to avoid the area and use other routes if possible as traffic can test one’s patience in this area.
Some of the photos were quite dark as it was already past 5pm when I took them with a cell phone camera. I tried to adjust the brightness in order to have clearer images.
Approaching the construction site along Quezon Avenue, motorists can already experience the constriction
The concrete barriers are adequate for keeping vehicles off the excavated sections of Quezon Avenue. These seem to be permanent barriers for when the underpass is already operational.
Manila-bound approach to the Quezon Ave.-Araneta Ave. intersection where there are effectively 2 lanes available to traffic. It can be quite congested here during the regular weekdays as the original 5-lane section Quezon Ave. narrowed to 2 lanes due to the ongoing construction of the underpass. There used to be a pedestrian overpass at the intersection. This had to be dismantled to give way to the construction of the underpass. Remnants of the overpass remain in the area.
After crossing Araneta Ave., Quezon Ave. still effectively has 2 lanes as temporary concrete barriers protect the innermost lane beside the underpass barrier.
Approaching the site from Manila, there is already congestion along the 5-lane section of Quezon Ave. This section will also eventually narrow down to 2 lanes.
The Quezon City-bound approach to the intersection along Quezon Ave. also has only 2 lanes left available due to construction materials and equipment.
As in the opposite side of Quezon Ave. one lane of the at-grade level of the road is not available to traffic due to the construction works.
At the intersection, the remains of what was a pedestrian overpass can be still be seen. The overpass crossed both Quezon Ave. and Araneta Ave., allowing for pedestrians to walk across the intersection without conflict with motor vehicles below.
The intersection itself has not been excavated and it will be a “Herculean” task to manage traffic once this phase of the project is implemented. Both R-7 and C-3 are high volume roads and the MMDA and QC enforcers would have their hands full, and definitely more challenging than what they are contending with at present. This intersection will still be at-grade in the future and should feature a traffic signal to manage the remaining traffic movements as through traffic along Quezon Ave. will eventually flow continuously along the underpass.
About 100 meters past the intersection, traffic is free flowing along Quezon Ave. as 2 lanes become 3 and then 5 – a basic principle in traffic flow theory.
A good thing for the project is the approaching school break after March 2012. Should construction proceed at the current pace (or even faster) they should be able to have the underpass operational by the time school opens in June 2012. The contractor should take advantage of the typically good weather in Metro Manila from January to May so as to finally relieve road users of the inconvenience caused by the project implementation. On another note, the underpass is similar to what was proposed for the case of C5-Kalayaan before the MMDA decided to turn that intersection into a showcase for their U-turn scheme, culminating in the construction of 2 U-turn overpasses in the area. The completion of the Quezon Ave.-Araneta Ave. underpass coupled with an effective traffic signal system setting at-grade may just prove the DPWH right in their pitch for the same intervention at C5-Kalayaan and revive discussions pertaining to a more effective solution to the congestion there.
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Still on the Commonwealth extension to Quirino Highway
Driving to my in-laws’ home the weekend before Christmas, I was able to pass along the newly paved section of Commonwealth that now connects directly with Quirino Highway. While there are still much evidence of the construction project like materials and soil from excavations, traffic signs have been installed and pavement and curb markings were mostly completed including the yellow box.
One can compare the photos below with those in an earlier post found here.
Intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Jordan Plains Subd. gate
The intersection at the Jordan Plains gate already has directional signs showing the way to points of interest like the Novaliches District Center (sort of a mini City Hall), General Luis road (via Jordan Plains Subdivision) and Quirino Highway, which is up ahead from the intersection.
On the day before Christmas, most leftover construction material were already removed from the area and the approach to the intersection is shown below. The 4-lane northbound side of Commonwealth becomes 3 lanes from the intersection. The opposite southbound direction with 3 lanes widens to 4 lanes after the intersection.
Approach to the intersection with Jordan Plains to the left and Quirino Highway up ahead. The buildings up ahead are part of the San Benissa Garden Villas.
Approach to intersection from Quirino Highway. Also visible in this photo are residential buildings of the San Benissa Garden Villas
So far, I have only observed light traffic along the intersection but this should eventually become a major intersection and may require traffic signals once motorists become more familiar with this route. Already there are some experiences of congestion at the intersection with Quirino Highway as it is currently unsignalized despite the volume of traffic at the area. Considering the typical behavior of motorists, it is not unthinkable that conflicting flows eventually translate into constrictions as drivers generally do not give way even to those with a clear right of way. Thus, manual enforcement will have to be present, firm and consistent in order to be effective in managing traffic at Commonwealth-Quirino.
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Revisiting Marcos Highway: a work in progress?
I was able to take some photos along Marcos Highway before the rains came over the weekend just to have a handle on the current state of roadworks along that road. I had written recently about the progress along Commonwealth Ave., particularly the stretch connecting to Quirino Highway. In that project, the contractors constructed a culvert across Commonwealth that took quite some time and yet has been completed many weeks ago.
Unfortunately, for those using Marcos Highway, it seems the inconvenience (to use a diplomatic word) will continue on considering the seemingly chaotic approach the contractors have been employing in digging up the pavement. Of course, it is a major project and I am sure many people will ultimately be thankful for the new drainage (hopefully, it’s maintained well) and the brand new pavement that will make travel smoother. But then the completion of the Marcos Highway works seem quite far in the horizon and has effected tremendous losses in travel time and fuel.
Section across Burger King and in the vicinity of a U-turn slot intended for traffic generally coming from Imelda/Felix Ave. The site is a bottleneck for traffic coming from Masinag and the villages along Marcos Highway. Due to the road works and the U-turn slot, there are only 2 lanes effectively available for through traffic that originally flowed along 4 lanes.
Past the bottleneck, the Marcos Highway seems quite spacious with the equivalent of 3 lanes suddenly available to motorists. At right, there is the work area of a water concession who is supposed to coordinate with the road project contractor.
Newly paved lane at the approach to the junction with Imelda Ave/A. Tuazon Ave. The works at this intersection has affected turning traffic to and from A. Tuazon Ave. At one time, right turns from Marcos Highway were prohibited due to construction affecting the entire intersection exit to A. Tuazon itself.
After passing Dela Paz and approaching Ligaya, motorists will usually encounter another bottleneck due to the U-turn slot for vehicles generally coming from Amang Rodriguez (Pasig) and bound for Marikina. The area is usually constricted even with traffic enforcers present. These enforcers are usually found engrossed in checking for number coding violators than managing traffic. At present, there project contractor has paved the innermost lane of the section and this morning that lane is already passable to vehicles. Problem is, the same vehicles will discover that they will eventually run into the U-turn slot and motorists would have to swerve right to converge with through traffic.
At the intersection of Marcos and Rodriguez, the traffic enforcers (probably in coordination with the contractor) made an opening to allow for counterflow during the peak periods. This is supposed to alleviate congestion at the intersection where aside from the still unfinished works, jeepneys tend to congregate and constrict the flow of traffic. Such occurs on a regular basis and one wonders how Pasig and MMDA enforcers can just stand around and not do anything about this predicament.
After Ligaya, traffic flow is split with vehicles maneuvering left and right to avoid road works along a middle lane of Marcos Highway. The pavement on the right most lanes are newly constructed and have been passable for some time now. From the looks of the pavement on the left, these two will soon be scheduled for re-blocking. Perhaps the lane under construction now will be finished by then.
There are also drainage and road works ongoing on the other side of the highway and right in front along the LRT2 station. Often, commuters can be seen taking one lane of Marcos Highway as they try to get their rides from jeepneys who occupy yet another lane or two. During the night-time, another counterflow scheme is used for eastbound traffic with an opening just after the bridge.
Of course there is hope for those using Marcos Highway regularly. Perhaps the project will be completed before school opens in June 2012 and by then flow will be smoother and congestion more bearable. We only need to look at Ortigas Ave and its extension to know that we are still quite lucky. It is far worse along that road.
Municipal transport in San Francisco – Part 2: Trolley buses
San Francisco’s trolley buses are probably among the last of a fading breed of bus transport still employing electricity to service various routes in that city. With a cousin driving our vehicles along McAllister Street, I was able to take photos of the overhead cables from which the trolley buses are able to pick-up electricity to power their motors.
Overhead cables seem to be everywhere including the streets around the San Francisco City Hall located at the Civic Center. This is a photo of the intersection of McAllister and Polk Street.
Another view of City Hall with cables running above McAllister. Notice the cables connected to transverse wires that are in turn connected to the light poles.
Where buses turn, cables may also be found above. This is the junction of McAllister and Van Ness Avenue. That’s the Herbst Theater building on the left, which houses the Museum of Performance and Design, and the California Public Utilities Commission on the right. Those are two buses, one trolley and the other natural gas-powered in the middle of the photo.
A close-up from the preceding photo shows the trolley bus with its long pantograph. The bus on the right runs on natural gas and is a low emission vehicle.
A closer view of the overhead cables show how they are connected to the poles along the roadside.
That’s a bus headed for the Transbay terminal. At front is a bicycle rack and the worm logo of Muni.
In the streets of San Francisco, one thing’s for sure – if you see those overhead cables along a road, you know that the trolley buses run along that street. Most major streets in San Francisco are served by public transport, providing excellent mobility for its citizens. They say you can usually take or get off a bus within a block of your destination. If you have to walk, the walk is usually at a leisurely pace and generally in a safe environment. You’ll probably only encounter difficulties walking when you’re in the hilly areas like Nob Hill and Russian Hill where the streets can get quite steep. Still, the walk’s usually well worth it not just because of the exercise but also because of the view and the small neighborhood shops and restaurants along your way.
Caught (up) in traffic 