Share ko lang. Kasi sobra rin akong naiinis sa pinagagagawa ni BF sa mga U-turns and removing the islands. Hindi na ako makatawid sa Aurora Boulevard, masasagasaan pa ako ng humaharurot na jeep dahil wala na akong island na pwedeng takbuhan!!! Buti sana kung may overpass. Law-abiding citizen naman ako, okay lang sa akin ang gumamit ng overpass, e paano kung wala? Tapos sa QA naman, may mga MMDA nga, hindi naman nila pinipigil ang mga sasakyan para makatawid ang mga tao tapos pipituhan pa nila ako na tumawid sa tamang lugar. Buti sana kung tinutulungan nila ako. Anyway, buti na lang kakampi natin si Sir Butch.

BUTCH DALISAY'S TAKE: THE QUEZON AVENUE CLEARWAY SCHEME IGNORES
PEDESTRIANS AND THEIR RIGHT TO CROSS THE STREET SAFELY

PENMAN By Butch DalisayThe Philippine STAR 11/10/2003

I'm of two minds about the recent decision of the metropolitan
authorities to declare most of Quezon Ave. a "clearway," meaning a
road without crossings or stoplights. The old crossings have been
replaced by U-turn slots nearby. As a motorist who often has to
shuttle between Diliman and various government offices downtown, I
can sense some improvement in the traffic, especially along that
stretch from the Quezon Memorial to the Delta area. But the
improvement actually derives more from the underpass across Edsa than
the clearway scheme itself. In fact, on a longer stretch that begins
at the Pantranco area and ends at the Welcome Rotunda, the U-turn
slots have simply succeeded in creating huge bulges of slow-moving
traffic around them, relegating the forward flow to the rightmost
lane. (Didn't somebody figure the turning radius of all those trucks
and buses?)

But more than the minimal pickup in speed, I'm bothered by the fact
that THE SCHEME SIMPLY IGNORES PEDESTRIANS AND THEIR RIGHT TO CROSS
THE STREET SAFELY. That ambulant constituency includes my 75-year-old
mother, who insists on taking the jeepney to visit my late father's
ashes at a columbarium in a church close to Quezon Ave. Going there's
no problem, since she gets off on the right side. Coming home is
another thing, because she then has to make it through the gauntlet
of vehicles enjoying what would now seem to be their absolute right
of way. The situation's even worse on Elliptical Road around the
Quezon Memorial Circle, where – the huge relief of a clearway for
motorists notwithstanding – no real provisions have been made for
pedestrians wishing or needing to cross over into the Circle – which
is, after all, one of Quezon City's most visited public sites.

As a motorist who screams his guts out everyday over the infernal
snarl of Manila traffic and the boorishness of the Pinoy driver, I
want a clear, obstruction-free avenue just as much as the next
fellow. I'm convinced, however, that it isn't more or newer traffic
schemes we need (and don't even get me started on that virtual maze
they've created in the Ortigas-Megamall area) – just old-fashioned
road discipline and courtesy, which seem hopelessly beyond us. (The
problem here, as in many other aspects of our society, is that things
like discipline and courtesy need to start from the top; what's the
use, I often think, of keeping to my lane if this two-bit congressman
or mayor and his retinue of bodyguards will just elbow their way past
me and past the red light, sirens blaring.)

And speaking of stoplights, we'd rather not have to deal with them
most of the time, but (aside from letting the people on the left and
right through) they do perform a useful role in the urban economy, as
an instant bazaar for cigarettes, menthol candy, cloth wipes, fake
Nokia cell phone chargers, and – admit it, you've always wanted one
of these – a toy tiger with a bobbing head, a wind-up helicopter, a
motorcycle helmet, and a fishing rod. For the motorist, stoplights
provide the obligatory pause for a quick glance at the cell phone
(don't make that call while driving, folks), a switch of radio
stations or CD tracks, and a much-needed yawn and stretch.

I prefer the old rotundas (what the Brits call roundabouts) myself,
which didn't need traffic lights but which persuaded you to slow down
and literally go with the flow. They were an education in cooperation
and pagbibigayan, which is probably what we need as a nation more
than anything. Rotundas also made good excuses for statuary and water
fountains. But I'm dreaming of another time – or maybe another
country.