Giant mall told to help mitigate traffic

Police authorities and traffic officers recommended to the management of SM City Baguio to implement short, medium- and long-term measures that will mitigate the monstrous traffic jams along major roads leading to the mall, especially during weekends where there is an influx of visitors to the city.

Police Lt. Col. Roldan Cabatan, chief of the Baguio City Police Office–Traffic Enforcement Unit (BCPO-TEU), disclosed that one of the recommendations of the authorities submitted to the mall management is for the installation of electronic signages within the parking areas to guide motorists, especially when the allocated slots are already filled up.

He pointed out that the purpose of the electronic signages is to inform the motorists on whether or not the parking spaces are already filled up or provide a countdown on how many  slots are still available so that motorists will not line up and occupy a portion of the road leading to the parking area that causes the traffic in the said place.

Further, the police official added that the mall management was also requested to deploy additional personnel to assist motorists and help in managing the smooth flow of traffic within its property line to avoid congestions in the said area.

The BCPO traffic chief stipulated that the mall management was asked to open some of the roads within its property to provide motorists with options on what route to take when going out of the mall to avoid the congestions in the single exit area along Upper Session road leading to other roads in the central business district area.

According to him, the mall management informed concerned authorities that their recommendations were already submitted to the mall’s top-level officials for appropriate action.

Cabatan also supported the earlier proposal to construct a pedestrian overpass within the vicinity of Session road and Gov. Pack Road leading to the mall area to serve the pedestrians in going to and from the mall to avoid a gridlock among pedestrians and motorists in the area.

He said that the city police force will continue to engage the mall management to fine tune strategies and measures to be adopted to mitigate the flow of traffic in the area as motorists and pedestrians always seem to flock to the mall during weekends that cause the congestion in the intersections leading to the establishment.

Cabatan emphasized that the BCPO-TEU, the city government and concerned government agencies continue to study possible options on how to ease the worsening traffic congestion around the city, especially during weekends, to ensure that residents and visitors will enjoy their break.

The traffic officer urged the pedestrians and motorists to cooperate with the strategies and measures being implemented by the BCPO-TEU and the city government to improve the smooth flow of traffic in the central business district for them to be able to reach their desired destinations without being delayed because of the monstrous traffic jams along major roads around the city. – Dexter A. See