Transport, traffic, and land-use planning recommendations

THERE is no silver bullet to solve Metro Manila’s traffic mess. We have to swallow bitter pills, if we push for immediate action measures. Traffic congestion is a physical effect and a confluence of many factors. It is not a simple mass-transit or road maintenance issue; it is a problem of holistic city planning.

As a senior planner and team leader for the Metro Manila Transport and Development Plan (MMETROPLAN), a joint project of the Philippine Government and Freeman Fox and Associates of the United Kingdom (1975-1977), we identified that a “do nothing scenario” would be catastrophic. Unfortunately, it is happening today—catastrophic flooding, traffic, transport, and obsolete infrastructure, among others problems. Even more worrisome is that cities of the other regions could be copying the mistakes of Metro Manila.