Could a New Five-Year Traffic Management Plan Finally Solve Our Traffic Woes?

Now that things have basically returned to normal, pre-pandemic traffic is also back. Heck, EDSA traffic may have even become worse than it was before COVID-19 hit, especially during this holiday season.

For its part, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is doing its best and pulling out all the stops to mitigate traffic come Christmas. These changes, however, still won't be significant enough to have long-lasting impacts on the traffic situation in the metro.

What will have long-term effects is a more comprehensive traffic management plan like the one that's now in the works.

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MMDA, LGUs, and NGAs approve a five-year plan to solve Metro Manila traffic:

The MMDA has announced that it has approved a new five-year action plan to reduce congestion in Metro Manila with the 17 local government units in the capital and national government agencies responsible for traffic management in the city.

The plan covers various traffic-management strategies that include improving traffic corridors, and 42 identified traffic bottlenecks in the city, enhancing intelligent transportation systems, promoting active transport, and strengthening traffic regulations, enforcement, and road safety.

"No one can resolve the chronic traffic jam in Metro Manila alone, but if we all work together, we are optimistic that there is hope for improving the traffic situation," said JICA Philippines chief representative Takema Sakamoto. "If we strongly bond, we can achieve continuous economic growth and attain the quality of life for every Filipino."

Though no specific timeline has been laid out yet, we'll watch updates regarding this new undertaking.