Streets are for Pedestrians Too!

This was the sentiment that hundreds of persons with disability (PWD) delivered to the offices of the MMDA yesterday following a treacherous trek through EDSA. The PWDs literally snaked through the behemoth buses, further risking injury, just to reach their destination. The march (more hobble, actually) underscored their plight. Because of the pink fences and foot bridges that the agency has erected city-wide, roads were rendered unnavigable for PWDs.

I have long brought up this issue among my peers and anybody else who would care to listen. In fact, two years ago, I complained to the MMDA citing that the footbridges were a bane to the elderly and the disabled. Through SMS, the MMDA suggested that they (PWDs) should seek the assistance of traffic enforcers who will then escort them across the street at ground level. I indicated that no enforcers could be found. To this the MMDA replied “pasensiya na lang kayo" (akin to saying “we’re unable to do anything about it so that’s it… goodbye!”).

I was infuriated! This was a violation of the law and completely unacceptable!

Pedestrians contribute to the traffic problem, I admit that; but, they are not the sole cause of it. For the large part, undisciplined drivers are more to blame. Therefore, pedestrians should not be made to bear the brunt of the ill effects of any remedy. The MMDA has practically banned people from the roadways, making them the exclusive domain of vehicle owners. How fascist!

Rather than building foot bridges (which I reckon cost hundreds of millions of pesos) the more practical solution should have been strict enforcement of traffic rules and regulations. Posting a couple of traffic enforcers, who know their jobs and perform them honestly, at each critical or problematic crossroad, is more economical than building these monstrosities. A year or two of faithful enforcement of the law, I truly believe, will educate and discipline both motorists and pedestrians; making both the bridges and enforcers unnecessary. The root of the problem is inadequate law enforcement!

These stupid traffic management schemes are neither scientifically proven nor are they effective; not one of them! They are all being implemented for one purpose and one purpose alone - to make money. Someone is raking in tons of mullah from all these civil works! Whose family is involved in the business of construction anyway?

Do the math… how much more do we spend for these civil works vis-à-vis the salaries of a couple of hundred enforcers over, say, five years? The civil works are more expensive, aren’t they? And they don’t solve the basic problem – lack of road discipline!

So why do you think the more expensive solution was selected?

POSTSCRIPT: Early this evening the “MMDA German” was interviewed on TV and actually confirmed my earlier statements. The agency he heads, and himself in particular, does not give a damn about the plight of PWDs. "You can’t have everything you want" was basically what he said, referring to the protesters. This only proves that this delusional sorry excuse for a public servant should be booted out of his office and dunked in the Tulyahan River along with the garbage his agency has consistently failed to dispose of properly. He does not deserve any respect; hell, he doesn’t deserve to be a member of the human race!