Finally, better traffic management in Iloilo City?

ILOILO City – The local transportation office plans to put in place a modern traffic management system that may see the removal of the “islands” at the capitol rotunda and the reduction of traffic aides.

The city government has been studying the future implementation of the Advance Traffic Management System (ATMS) since last year.

Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) head Jeck Conlu said the study is “80 percent” complete.

According to the local government, the modern system is expected to address traffic situations foreseen 10 years from now.

It involves the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras for the monitoring of traffic volume, rule violations and accidents along the city’s thoroughfares.

Footage from the cameras may be viewed from a state-of-the-art command center, the PSTMO said.

Among other benefits, this will enable the PSTMO to catch traffic rule violators even without traffic aides manning the streets.

But there will have to be changes on the city thoroughfares once the ATMS is in place, according to Conlu.

For one, he said, the seven “islands” – landscaped plant boxes – at the rotunda fronting the Iloilo provincial capitol compound will be demolished and a new traffic scheme will be implemented in the area.

All existing traffic lights will be upgraded, some of them relocated, and new traffic lights will be installed, Conlu said.

Unlike the proposed Integrated Traffic System during the Mabilog administration that focused on Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue (Diversion Road) in Mandurriao district, the ATMS will cover the entire city, he said.

The ATMS will be carried out phase by phase, starting from City Proper as Phase 1, which includes the construction of the command center.

Phase 1 is estimated to cost between P50 million to P400 million, said the PSTMO head.

The command center will be placed in a two-storey building that will also house the PSTMO, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and the Bureau of Fire Protection.

Having all these offices on the frontline of emergency response under one building “will make for easier deployment,” said Conlu.

Phase 2, on the other hand, will be implemented in Mandurriao and Jaro districts, Phase 3 in Arevalo and Molo, and Phase 4 in La Paz.

Moreover, security cameras installed in the barangays will be incorporated in the ATMS.

Conlu said they will propose an amendment to the CCTV ordinance, particularly on the standard specifications, so CCTVs in the villages may be connected to the traffic command center.

It is high time for Iloilo to invest in its traffic system and be at par with other highly urbanized cities like Davao, Makati, Taguig, Pasay, and Cebu, said Conlu.

SOURCE: Panay News

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