Traffic is definitely one of the major problems that commuters face in their every day lives traversing the infamous Metro Manila. The traffic all of us loathe is usually caused by road deconstruction, events, pipelines renovation, and many more things of the same nature.
A 15 minute travel can be a frustrating one (1) hour travel depending on the intensity of the traffic. Most commuters and motorists become irritated that they feel super hassle adding to the heat of the weather, the pollution in the air and constant battle to ride public transportation.
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To all Metro Manila commuters, brace yourselves. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) declared last Thursday, January 23, 2020, that a part of Aurora Boulevard in Cubao, Quezon City will be closed for 7 nights starting the 25th of January until the 1st of February, 2020.
In addition to that, they said that the closure will run from 12:00 A.M. until 5:00 A.M. to avoid the rush hours of the road. In an announcement, the MMDA stated that the closure will include the westbound lane (going to Manila) of Aurora Boulevard from Oxford to Imperial Streets.
Why would there be roads closed for 7 nights?
Could you guess what the reason is? Well, according to the agency, the reason of the said closure is to give way for the replacement of eleven (11) escalator units of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 2 of the Cubao Station.
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In their advisory, they duly gave recommendations to motorists and commuters to take another possible route on the prolongation of the replacement of the said escalators for LRT line 2.
This will allow the private contractor of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to transfer the escalator units from a big truck to the Cubao LRT station using a mobile crane.”
People who would most likely be affected are those who will be coming from the westbound. They may turn right from Aurora Boulevard – Cubao road to Yale street or Oxford street.
From there, they can turn right to Columbia, and then take a left to Imperial or West Point Streets to exit to Aurora Boulevard going to Manila.
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The importance of the renovation of the station
Many people, especially those who would severely be affected consider this as something of unimportance. However, if you look at it at a bigger picture, it’ll be one of the most useful, beneficial, and advantageous to people who are taking the public transport on a daily basis.
These renovations and projects that look to improve the commuters’ means of transportation may eventually lead to a better traffic system in the Philippines. It might even be able to solve the never-ending problems we have with Philippine traffic.
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The Philippine government is slowly understanding that improperly maintained stations are just few of the reasons why the traffic is worsening.
Hopefully, their struggles as commuters will come to a decline, but in the end, if this will succeed, it will definitely be easier for the commuters to ride comfortably and hassle-free. They are just asking to bare with them until such time that the said escalators for the passengers of the LRT will function and be in service again.
Overall, the act of having roads closed for 7 nights isn’t really bad; especially if we consider the fact that the MMDA is thoughtful because they’ll be running their operations at midnight where there are less people to minimize the congestion and inconvenience it’ll cause motorists.
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Easing the pain of Manila and Metro Manila commuters
The LRT Line 2 is among the popular trains for students especially those who attend school in the country’s capital. Cubao, being one of the stations with certain malls around it, is among the whole system’s “most used stations.”
Because of this, many of the station’s resources have gone through the wear and tear process quite faster than how it should be. With roads closed for 7 nights because of the replacement of 11 elevators, we should expect a huge impact on the functionality of the station.
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Hopefully, this could be one of the main reasons why people will start to love using the train for their travel purposes.
What do you think about the plan to close roads for 7 nights in Auora Boulevard? Could this be an overall additive to the hastening of the replacement they’re doing? Could a few nights of sacrifice pave way for a better life for commuters?
Source/s: Tribune | Business Mirror PH
