Step in right direction, however is no enforcement. Only those who can pay will be fined, that's us lot.
I have yet to see a tow truck anywhere in Negros. Seems like a great opportunity for a profit center for the government. In the US, cities gouge people who park illegally and have their cars towed and impounded. By the time you pay the fine, pay for the tow, pay for the impound lot, pay for the taxi to get to where you pay the fine, pay for the taxi to the impound lot, etc., it's unlikely you would park illegally again. They could do that here and pay for the tow trucks inside of a month. Put the impound lot in Tanjay, and the cashier in Siaton. Complaints? See the judge! You're number 63,452 on the list and your case will be heard sometime in 2027. Court fees must be paid in advance to get on the docket: PHP 20,000. Of course, you can always pay the fixer 2,000 pesos and it will all go away.
P Pat, I received a ticket last year for parking on on the street, behind the white line, on Hibbard, in front of the electronics store. I asked the policeman where i was supposed to park (as there were two cars parked there too) and he said with a straight face---On the sidewalk, Sir, like the rest of them!!!
Can't block, or even slow down, the traffic. Sidewalks are not for pedestrians in Dumaguete. If they were just a bit wider and more even, they would be tricycle travel lanes.
I see where you are coming from however, without proper parking spaces to begin with in the city I can also see why nearly everyone breaks this ordinance. If the land developers would have taken into account (one day) the traffic might be an issue, and planned parking spaces we wouldn't be in such a pickle... Maybe... If I had the means to purchase various spaces across the city, I'd construct paid multi-deck parking lots because quite frankly, downtown Dumaguete is not so large that I can not walk to various locations (or end to end) if needed. But, hey that's just me. I think the idea would be a great investment. Maybe, not today but down the road with the rate of cars being introduced to the environment. It would create a revenue stream for the owner, possibly reduce traffic downtown, and provide a few jobs (toll taking, security, maintenance, clean up, etc.) Of course I don't have any statistics to back this up, nor have I ever been in the city planning or construction field. I've just played a lot of SimCity growing up.
