MMDA urged to update traffic signs

MANILA, Nov. 29 (PNA)-- Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista has urged the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to update existing traffic signs and street marks to keep pace with the latest traffic management technology.

Bautista made the call in the wake of the alarming increase in road accidents in Metro Manila including Quezon City.

The vice mayor said that motorists and commuters are complaining nowadays of the confusing vehicle lanes, pedestrian crossings blocked by islands, and U-turn slots that are often moved or relocated.

Most of these encountered problems, he said are located on the busiest thoroughfares like EDSA, Commonwealth, and Katipunan/C-5 Roads.

“Indistinguishable pedestrian lanes pose grave danger to our senior citizens and schoolchildren who trust what those paint stripes, unaware that motorists may no longer slow down or stop to allow them to pass,” he said.

This, Bautista said, is the reason why there must be a comprehensive review of all traffic signs and road structures by MMDA to ensure the safety of commuters and motorists. With this move, he said, road accidents will decrease and more lives of motorists and commuters will be saved.

He said that it will also enable Metro Manila to keep pace with the latest traffic management technology that will keep traffic moving safely and efficiently.

Bautista, who is the Liberal Party mayoralty standard bearer for QC, believes that road safety audit will rationalize every structure and signage placed on the roads and may help lessen the confusion among pedestrians and motorists which leads to fatal road mishap.

“The purpose is to eliminate fatal mistakes on our major streets as a result of these infrastructures that have also become silent road hazards,” he said.

The vice mayor, at the same time, said that more taxpayers’ money are wasted on street markings that have been rendered ineffective or inadequate.