BAGUIO CITY – The city government supports the conduct of the required feasibility study to ascertain the most feasible public transport system that will be put in place not only in the city but also within the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) area.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said coming up with a lasting solution to the city’s worsening traffic woes involves the consideration of numerous factors that might affect the sources of livelihood of some sectors.
Aside from the monorail project being proposed by the DOST, some sectors are pushing for the establishment of cable cars and electronic jeepneys that would help contribute in significantly addressing the air pollution.
However, Domogan cited there is a need to first complete the feasibility studies for such magnitude of projects in order to identify the possible problems and the recommended solutions so as not to result to the displacement of local residents from their sources of livelihood once the city government will decide to adopt the most feasible, environmentally-friendly and affordable public transport system.
Earlier, the Cordillera Regional Development Council (RDC-CAR) created an ad hoc committee that will study the conduct of the pre-feasibility study for the proposed La Trinidad and Baguio lines of the monorail project proposed by the DOST-CAR.
It was learned that the 5.2-Km La Trinidad line from the Benguet Provincial Capitol area up to the Slaughterhouse Compound will cost at least P4 billion while the 2.1-Km Baguio line from the Bonifacio rotunda up to the SM City Baguio area will cost P3 billion.
Domogan claimed the local government remains open to various recommendations on how to solve the city’s worsening traffic problem although initial measures have already been put in place to help mitigate the serious negative effects of the daily traffic jams.
According to him, city officials listen to the plight of the motoring and commuting public, that is why various sectors should not be hesitant in coming out with their recommendations which will be for consideration by the city officials and traffic experts./Dexter A. See
