Do we really need a Pasig River expressway?

There have been recent media announcements about the Pasig River Expressway, also known as Parex — a proposed 19.37- kilometer six-lane elevated expressway running the length of the Pasig River, with an estimated cost of P81.5 billion. According to the media reports, the toll way project of San Miguel Corp. was approved in August 2020 by the Tollways Regulatory Board. Is this what we need at this time? And have we considered what we would be sacrificing in the process?

For decades, the popular response to traffic has been more roads or wider roads. This approach has failed. The painful lesson is that roads designed mainly for the use of cars actually diminish mobility for all — they end up attracting greater motor vehicle use leading to more road congestion (a phenomenon known as “induced demand”).