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More urban expressways for Metro Manila?
I’ve written about expressways before and particularly about where they probably are most suitable and where they shouldn’t be constructed. Here is the article I posted here in 2021: https://d0ctrine.com/2021/05/03/in-defense-of-expressways/
I will not comment anymore about the alignment of the proposed SALEX but here is a “without” and “with” elevated tollway that’s based on a photo of Padre Faura we took while doing a recon around the PGH compound last Friday.
Photo of section of Padre Faura Street fronting U.P. Manila’s Museum of Ideas
AI-assisted image showing the transformation of the section once the proposes SALEX is constructed. The elevated tollway should be higher than the renders you see on social media because there is the Line 1 along Taft Avenue.
Can the trees be saved? Maybe and by saved we don’t mean that they will be transferred. They should be retained where they are.
Why is San Miguel so intent in constructing these tollways? Is it really to “solve” Metro Manila traffic? Most objective, level-headed experts will tell you that the solution involved public and active transportation rather than more tollways. Who is whispering to Ramong Ang’s ears and advising him to build more of these tollways (and bridges)? Your guess is probably as good as mine…
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A tollway over Padre Faura?
We had a recon survey of the streets surrounding the UP Manila and UP PGH compound this morning. We walked the entire time and got to see firsthand the conditions along the streets including Pedro Gil and Padre Faura. I’ve seen and read a lot about the proposed SALEX with an alignment that will have the proposed tollway above Padre Faura.
I can’t imagine the blight that the elevated tollways will have on Padre Faura. It will surely affect traffic along the street during construction. There is a lot of AI-generated renders of what it will look like. However, not clearly shown would be the effect of the tollway on a narrow street like Padre Faura. It will be higher than the Line 1 along Taft Avenue though so most renders you see on social media are incorrect in terms of elevation.
Were the establishments along Padre Faura consulted before the alignment of the proposed tollway was submitted for approval? That alone seems to be a glaring flaw in the PPP law considering the location of the tollway. Why is another tollway for construction in the metropolis when what are required are mass transit lines and better public transport?
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On the RFID fiasco
Early December 2020, Metro Pacific Corporation suddenly had to deal with jam-packed toll plazas and queues that affected roads connecting to the North Luzon Expressways. Fast-forward and Valenzuela City apparently had enough of it and revoked the tollway corporation’s business permit. Later, matters were resolved with the tollways reverting to mixed toll collection to manage the queues at the toll plazas.
Prior to this, tollways corporation scrambled to meet the deadline set and re-set by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) through the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) for contactless, cashless toll payments. The question is if there was enough time for tollway operators to acquire the best (not just the minimum required) system for this endeavor. There are some opinions that this was basically required on short notice and for the government to get some brownie points for this.
Were there issues about technology and the corresponding costs to the acquisition and deployment of the necessary devices for seamless, contactless, delay-free (in relative terms) transactions for tollways? Probably so. Those RFIDs and the readers installed at strategic locations along tollways (i.e., entries and exits) were certainly not state of the art or the best available out there. Singapore, for example, uses a more sophisticated system for their expressways where you no longer have toll plazas and you won’t have to slow down to be detected by the system. That system has corresponding costs but is perfect for the city state given that most roads are tolled anyway because of their road pricing policy. In the case of our tollways, not all travelers are actually going to utilize the tollways as frequently as it would necessitate them having to get either the Easy Trip or Auto Sweep tags. That is obvious from the relatively low penetration rates for electronic toll collection (ETC). So it still makes sense to have hybrid booths for those not availing the ETC option. Anyway, travelers will have to exercise disinfection protocols to ensure infections are prevented.
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Caught (up) in traffic 