Lost in Construction

Traffic in the Philippine capital region has consistently been a source of frustration for both local residents and foreign visitors, including Korean singer Eric Nam.

In August, during his visit, Nam took to Twitter to express his sentiments, stating, “Manila, your traffic is unmatched” following several hours of being stuck in traffic.

According to the 2022 TomTom Traffic Index, the City of Manila ranks ninth among the most congested cities in the world, making it the second most traffic-congested city in East and Southeast Asia after Sapporo, Japan.

To alleviate traffic congestion and “allow seamless travel” within Metro Manila, the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) and San Miguel Holdings Corporation (SMHC) – the infrastructure arm of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) – will build a 19.37-kilometer six-lane elevated expressway over the Pasig River.

The Pasig River Expressway (PAREX), designed to connect Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay, carries an estimated cost of approximately P95.4 billion (US$1.7 billion). Proponents assert that this project will significantly decongest traffic on the major roads of the capital region.

PAREX will traverse five cities within the capital region, creating a vital link between Radial Road 10 in the City of Manila and the South East Metro Manila Expressway in Taguig City.

“We will integrate into the design of bus rapid transit systems to further decongest our cities and provide commuters [with] a faster, more efficient, and affordable systems of transport,” said SMC President Ramon Ang’s speech during the groundbreaking of PAREX in 2021.

PAREX initially appeared as a promising solution. But despite its supposed advantages, the project drew substantial criticism.

Ironically, instead of alleviating traffic congestion, experts say PAREX may soon contribute to the already-existing traffic nightmares.

Move people, not vehicles

In 2022, an average of 3 million motorcycles and cars traverse Metro Manila roads daily, based on Metro Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) data.

Mobility advocate Robert Siy of the Move as One Coalition said that more roads will only lead to motor vehicles. “We have seen this in [other expressways] where additional lanes have been placed, but the heavy traffic is still there,” he said.

He added that putting an expressway over Pasig River will further worsen traffic because the ramps that will lead to narrower roads will become more congested. “The effect of PAREX is counterproductive, there will be no mobility improvement,” he added.

Move as One Coalition is an alliance of more than 140 organizations fighting for safe, humane, and inclusive public transportation in the Philippines.

It has been pushing for reforms in the government’s transportation policies through campaigns, policy research, dialogues, and lobbying with concerned government agencies.

Since its inception in 2020, it has been advocating for mobility that prioritizes the needs of commuters, a ‘just transition’ for public utility vehicles or jeepneys, inclusive mobility for persons with disabilities, and protected bike lanes for active transport users including cyclists.

Before the budget deliberations started in Congress this year, the group submitted its input to the 2024 proposed budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The group said that the “spending in the transportation sector needs to move people, not cars” and while the rail system is good for the long term, there should be a balance in the budget to include programs for public buses, jeepneys, and cycling.

The group proposed that more than Php20 billion (US$352.7 million) should be allocated for active transport including protected bike lanes and safe pathways but in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2024, only Php500 million (US$8.8 million) was appropriated for this.

The group has repeatedly asserted that to create livable cities, the government must adopt a long-term and more comprehensive view that looks at road users as Filipinos without cars.

However, lobbying and advocating for a walkable and bikeable city is not easy because there is a “historical preference for cars” which is why urban and transport planners designed roads for car use.

Traffic congestion is a common scenario for many major highways in the Philippines.

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) is Metro Manila’s major thoroughfare, which is now under overcapacity, carrying 402,000 vehicles daily while has the capacity of 288,000.

Passengers, including small children, board a bus along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) on a rainy day. Based on data, nearly 400,000 Filipinos utilized the EDSA Bus Carousel in 2022.

Traffic congestion is a common scenario for many major highways in the Philippines.

Siy said the number one issue his organization encounters during campaigns and lobbying is the “car-centric perspective” of policy and lawmakers.

“Because most of our decision-makers are car users, when they see that traffic problems worsen every day, they think that we need to build more roads and expressways to make their travel time faster,” said Siy.

Car owners represent only a minority but are privileged in terms of road use. According to recent data, only 6 percent of households nationwide and around 12 percent in the capital region are car owners.

Engr. JA Montalban, public information officer of the Pro-People Engineers and Leaders (PROPEL), said that the government should abolish its car-centric mindset and move people, instead of vehicles.

He reiterated that revitalizing the public transport system and making it efficient is the key to decongesting traffic in Metro Manila.

In a 2016 study by Michael D. Pante of the Ateneo de Manila University, 1 in 5 Metro Manila commuters rely on jeepneys (minibus-like public utility vehicles).

Although there are no available recent data as to the daily ridership of jeepneys, other modes of commuter transport like buses, trains, and bikes already take up more than a million daily ridership in Metro Manila.

“Instead of PAREX, there should be more trains in existing lines, add more railway lines, and improve the bus and ferry system. The government should create more esplanades along Pasig River for multi-modal transportation and green spaces where people can go for leisure activities,” said Engr. Montalban.

The government proposed a total of Php214 billion (US$3.7 billion) for the transportation department for 2024.

A big chunk of this budget will go to the railway transportation program with an allocation of P163.7 billion (US$2.9 billion).

Most of this budget will fund the construction of new railway and subway systems, but a measly amount is allocated for the maintenance and new trains for the existing train lines.

Highways to boulevards

While the Philippines is expanding its road and highway infrastructure, other countries are actively reducing their reliance on them.

In the U.S., the ‘Highways to Boulevard movement’ has gained ground and success in removing freeways or expressways and converting the space into multi-modal boulevards and more livable urban spaces.

According to the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), a non-profit organization based in the U.S. advocating for ‘walkable urbanism’, 18 American cities have either replaced or committed to replacing a freeway with more urban streets.

“Those that have completed highways to boulevards projects have found their economies and tax bases rising and their urban fabric healing,” it said in one of its fact sheets released in 2020.

Some of the freeways that were successfully removed in the U.S. include Harbor Drive in Portland, Embarcedero Freeway in San Francisco, Riverfront Parkway in Tennessee, Central Artery Highway in Boston, and Inner Loop in Rochester.

A drone shot of the Skyway3 over the Pasig River. Photo by LiCAS.news

A drone shot of an area where the Pasig River meets the Manila Bay in the City of Manila. Photo by LiCAS.news

All these cities are now bustling spaces for pedestrians and multi-modal transportation and have seen a rise in economic development ever since the removal of the freeways.

Another popular removal of an expressway was the Cheonggyecheon stream revitalization project in Seoul, South Korea in the early 2000s.

In a 2013 study conducted by the Institute for Transportation and Development Study (ITDS) on the Cheonggyecheon expressway removal, the area gained an annual 23 million visitors, reduced small particles of air pollution by 35 percent, and temperature reduced by 5°C.

“A progressive project, one that radically changes the norm, is primarily a matter of political will,” said ITDS in its report.

Passengers are waiting for the train’s arrival at Carriedo station of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 in the City of Manila. In 2022, more than 200,000 people used the LRT1 system daily.

Improvised trollies along the Philippine National Railways system in City of Manila are seen in this photograph. Residents use trollies as alternative mode of transportation despite the danger it poses.

A man is pushing an improvised trolley along the old Philippine National Railways system. Trollies are used as an alternative mode of transportation of local residents in some villages in the City of Manila.

An old train of the Philippine National Railways system is seen approaching in this photograph. Fewer people are now using the system because of shorter destination. The original route of the train system was from the capital region to the Bicol region in the southern part of Luzon Island.