Cosmetic
Tremble in your shoes and prepare for Armageddon. It has just been announced that Edsa, this paradise of congestion, will undergo two years of “rehabilitation.”
Edsa, we all know, is the boulevard of all our broken dreams. It is the icon of all that is wrong with the manner the National Capital Region has been governed the last eight decades. It is the reason why, apart from having the world’s worst airport, we have the world’s worst traffic flow.
Like the entire metropolitan tangle Edsa is supposed to serve, everything along this avenue happens as an afterthought. We have a substandard light rail line that not only eats up scarce road space, it also needs to be supplemented by a bus “carousel” that plies the exact same route as the rail line. Furthermore, this “carousel” forces commuters to walk long distances and board in the middle of the road.
We have a pedestrian crossing so elevated it is nicknamed “Stairway to Heaven.” One needs to be a mountaineer to climb it. In so many years, I have never seen one pedestrian using this hurdle.
Over the years, we allowed huge malls to crowd the avenue, further restricting traffic flow. To compound that, we allowed dozens of high density condominium buildings to line this avenue. The car and pedestrian traffic these buildings create will further jam the avenue. There is no way any more road space could be carved out to ease traffic movement.
The whole length of Edsa, from Caloocan to Pasay, is an obstacle course. Road space is carved out for the “carousel.” In addition, two lanes are reserved for U-turning vehicles. On the margins, half a lane is reserved for non-existent bicycles. Half a lane denied is a whole lane made useless.
Therefore, in many portions, Edsa has been reduced to a two-lane road. This is especially distressing in portions where construction has been going on for many years, such as the delayed “central station.” Construction materials spill into what is left of the road space and allowed to litter for months.
All through the length of Edsa, heavy concrete barriers have been installed in tight formation. They are sturdy enough to stop a tank. Unlighted, they are a hazard for all motorists at night.
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