5-story parking structure in orchidarium proposed
BAGUIO CITY – (9 March 2021) – A private developer is proposing to the local government the construction of a 5-story pay parking structure that is geared towards addressing the city’s parking problem in the central business district area.
In a presentation that was made before city executives and legislators, officials of All-Asia Structures, Inc. eyed the Orchidarium within Burnham Park as one of the ideal sites for the pay parking structure because it is bounded by roads that will serve as its exit and entrance.
Under the company’s proposal, the ground floor of the pay parking building will serve as the area where the flower vendors and proposed ‘pasalubong’ center will be accommodated while the second floor will serve as the parking area of public utility jeepneys and the modern office for the city’s traffic and transportation division.
Further, there will be some 142 slots that will be made available to the different jeepney associations in the central business district that will be relocated to the pay parking structure.
On the other hand, the third to fifth floors will be able to accommodate a total of 656 vehicles that will help in decongesting the central business district and will pave the way for the strict implementation of no parking around the city.
According to the company, the third floor of the parking building will be able to accommodate some 205 vehicular slots, 224 vehicles could be accommodated in the fourth floor while the fifth floor will be able to cater to the parking requirements of 227 vehicles.
Earlier, the city had been inviting proponents to submit their unsolicited proposals on the put up of pay parking structures at the Ganza pay parking area, the old city auditorium and the orchidarium.
Several private developers have submitted their unsolicited proposals to the local government and the same is now being reviewed by the city’s Public-Private Partnership – Selection Committee (P4-SC).
However, City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña directed the proponent to submit their traffic impact assessment that will accompany their proposal to guide the committee members in assessing and evaluating the most feasible proposal for the aforesaid project.
He pointed out that the availability of the traffic impact assessment by the proponents will greatly help the committee in intelligently deciding on which among the pending proposals will be the most feasible and advantageous to the local government in terms of helping ease the traffic congestions around the city and ensuring adequate income to the local government.
He said that the committee will be evaluating the proposals of the proponents based on the merits so that there will be a long-term solution to the city’s parking problems that had been plaguing the city over the past several decades because of the enormous increase in the number of motor vehicles plying the city’s streets daily.
The city administrator expressed optimism that the city will be able to find a private partner to be able to pursue the construction of a pay parking structure that will effectively and efficiently address the city’s parking woes in the coming years. – Dexter A. See
