Baguio rush hours truck ban pushed

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY  – The city council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance implementing truck ban during rush hours within the city and penalizing violators.

The ordinance authored by councilor Maria Mylen Victoria G. Yaranon and co-authored by councilors Leandro B. Yangot, Jr., Lilia A. Fariñas, and Joel Alangsab, stated trucks and huge vehicles with  gross capacity weight of 4,500 kilograms and above are prohibited from traversing, entering, parking, loading and unloading in the city roads during rush hours.

The proponents said there will be two time periods prohibiting trucks from the roads, like between 6-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m.

Violators of the ordinance shall be penalized by a fine of P1,500 for the first offense, P3,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 for the third and succeeding offenses.

Copies of the proposed ordinance will be furnished the Baguio City Police Office – Traffic Management Branch (BCPO_TMB), the City Treasury Office, the City Engineering Office, the City Planning and Development Office, the Baguio City District Engineering Office (BCDEO), for the said offices for their recommendations.

The ordinance added signs and advisory notices indicating the banned time, day, type of trucks and weight or capacity, and these shall be installed at strategic points; such notices shall be provided by the City Engineering Office in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio.

         The proponents claimed one of the causes of traffic congestion during rush hours was presence of trucks passing through the different national and local roads in the city, and the increasing number of trucks and other private and public vehicles plying the major streets.

They added the proposed measure will guide, control, and regulate the use of major roads by setting the appropriate guidelines to alleviate and improve the traffic problem as an effective measure of traffic control management and to impose proper penalties to willing violators.