Mayors meet to ease traffic in Baguio, nearby Benguet towns

By Marlo Lubguban

BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay (BLISTT) Development Council addressed major traffic and transportation issues that affect the BLISTT in a meeting on Dec. 4. Earlier, the National Economic Development Authority-Cordillera Administrative Region as secretariat of the BLISTT council, gathered experts from the government sector to provide strategies in addressing the traffic management and transportation issues in the BLISTT.

Some major concerns were increasing number of private vehicles during weekends and holidays, longer commuting time, inadequate parking facilities, and the need for more diversion routes around BLISTT.
“Traffic all emanates from Baguio City”, said BLISTT chairman and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

He bared the funding of the smart city system with a central traffic command center that uses artificial intelligence to aid traffic management.

Mayor Magalong urged other mayors to initiate road-widening projects in compliance with existing government standards. La Trinidad Mayor Romeo Salda requested the help of the regional Dept. of Public Works and Highways in implementing road-widening works as many areas are tied up in cases concerning tax-declarations and road-rights of way.
On transportation, the earlier workshop also identified a rising number of colorum jeepneys particularly in Sablan.

An LTFRB representative said that colorum vehicles result from the public need for more transportation.

He added his office is focused on helping and facilitating the creation of new franchises to address these needs.
NEDA-CAR Regional Director Milagros Rimando said the NEDA has funded several studies related to the traffic and transportation concerns of the BLISTT area such as estimating the urban carrying capacity of Baguio City, BLISTT sustainable urban infrastructure development (SUID) master plan and Philippine transport plan.

Based on the Baguio City urban carrying capacity, Rimando said major Baguio City intersections have already reached maximum carrying capacity since 2015.

Existing parking facilities and roads exceed carrying capacity during weekends and holidays when tourists visit the city, according to the study.

On the other hand, the BLISTT SUID masterplan offers short and medium-term solutions such as widening of intersections, improvement of street signs and markings, and consolidating PUJ trunk lines and terminals.

For long term, the study recommended slope protection for outer BLISTT circumferential roads and building tunneled highways along landslide-prone roads like Kennon Road.

The BLISTT Governing Council also passed resolution no. 01 S. of 2019 supporting House Bill 1337, “An Act Creating the Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay Development Authority (BLISTTDA), defining its powers and functions, and providing funds therefore.”

The members said the chairman must be elected among the BLISTT mayors and must be responsible in identifying development programs and projects of common interest to the member municipalities and the City of Baguio. -- NEDA-SPCAR