MANILA -- Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Wednesday expressed her support for a one-week delay of the closure of the Tandang Sora flyover to conduct more information drive on alternative routes, saying motorists are not yet fully aware of the closure and the rerouting scheme.
“I think there should be a delay because we found out that many people are still uninformed of this. So we’re asking if one-week postponement is okay. We want to assure that everything is ironed out,” Belmonte said in an interview.
“Marami pa pala kasing kailangan i-disseminate sa tao so baka hindi sapat ‘yung three days. Kung hindi naman pumayag si DOTr (Department of Transportation) Secretary Tugade (There are still many things needed to disseminate to the people so, we will still work with the timeframe, we’ll work overtime to inform our people,” she added.
The vice mayor was referring to a previous proposal for a three-day delay of the closure.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) general manager Jose Garcia welcomed the proposal, saying that he will endorse it to the DOTr.
The MMDA recently announced the demolition of the Tandang Sora flyover to make way for the construction of the Metro Rail Transit-7 (MRT-7) project, which will cause the closure of the Tandang Sora intersection for two years.
The Quezon City local government assured the public that the closure of the flyover will ease the traffic in Quezon City in the long run, and the anticipated discomfort will only be temporary.
“I want to assure our people that this discomfort is only temporary. It’s a momentary discomfort to pave the way for the full implementation of the construction of the MRT-7. It will ease our worsening traffic that we have been experiencing in our city for the past several years,” Belmonte said.
“Kaunting pagtitiis lang dulot ng mga pagbabagong ito… tungo sa isang mas maganda at maginhawang kinabukasan para sa ating lahat (These changes would only cause small sacrifices… toward a better and comfortable future for all of us),” she added.
The Quezon City Council held a public consultation, where it addressed issues concerning the closure of the Tandang Sora flyover, which would start on Feb. 23 and is expected to worsen the traffic situation along Commonwealth Avenue and nearby roads.
“In the spirit of transparency, I want all of this to be presented to our people so that our city government can work with you towards easing the discomfort that we are all anticipating to happen and will affect our people in the coming years,” Belmonte said.
“Our objective is to cooperate together, to work with one another because in the long term, we know these changes will be affecting us for the greater good of our city and of our nation. And we are fully cooperative of your endeavors,” she added. (PNA)
