DUMAGUETE CITY — The Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) on Wednesday formally presented to the Dumaguete City Council its position paper/proposal on the proposed truck ban — which the city government plans to implement in this capital city.
This, as a proposed truck ban in December 2017 was called off after the business sector sought to have it postponed in view of the Christmas season.
Edward Du, regional governor for Central Visayas of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and NOCCI past president, disclosed that the position paper/proposal was submitted during the regular session of the city council Wednesday morning.
However, the document has yet to be calendared for deliberation by members of the city council at another date in one of their regular sessions.
Earlier, officials of NOCCI, headed by Francisco Martinez, presented the same to Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo as the chamber had promised earlier it would help the city come up with a “win-win” scheme on the truck ban for all concerned parties.
The city government had announced late last year that it would implement a truck ban starting December 1 on a daily basis, from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., except on Sundays and holidays.
That proposal was supposed to be an “experiment” to decongest traffic in the city. However, the business sector bucked the idea, saying the big trucks are not the ones causing traffic congestion in Dumaguete.
Yielding to the appeal of the NOCCI and the business sector, the city government did not push ahead with the proposed truck ban, with the chamber saying it would help the local government find a solution to its traffic woes.
The NOCCI’s position paper/proposal for the truck ban this time is based in part on a study of the number of large trucks plying the city streets at certain times of the day when these would be passing through certain routes, and the ingress and egress of trucks to and from the city port when ships from other port of destinations arrive or depart, among others.
According to Du, their position paper is based on a truck volume count done by the Traffic Management Office (TMO) last November and December.
Du further disclosed that based on the initial study, the number of trucks that pass through the city streets each day would reach 60 at the maximum.
Also, the peak hours have been determined, such as from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Heavy traffic usually occurs only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with many trucks on the street, he added.
The “regular routes” should also be studied, such as where these trucks usually pass through and their respective destinations, Du pointed out. (Mary Judaline Partlow/PNA)
