Best Posts in Thread: Traffic Nightmare ( be Ready for even more unexpected chaotic Driving)

When my late husband (a natural-born Filipino, grew up in Bais and Dumaguete) was still alive and we were living in Dumaguete, he said that it is too late to teach the locals any kind of "organized" driving. He says it has been this way for too long and it will never change. I am afraid any changes they try to make will just be short-term as the people insist on doing it the way they always have, and the law enforcement finally just give up. I do hope the city law enforcers stick to their guns and get the traffic under control. Something definitely needs to be done.

 

I agree, as I park in one place with my M/C across from Lee Plaza in front of Robinsons, and walk the rest of the town. For walking purposes, the town is not really any bigger than a large mall is the US.
However I have found the weekend, and Monday also to be very difficult to get around town, even to walk the sidewalks or fight the crowds in the stores. I try to go "into town" only on Tuesday to Friday or later at night. It is just easier, I can get most of what I need at Robinson's mall and Hypermart without entering into the down town area on Saturday through Monday. .

 

Without a City master plan and people cooperating nothing will work.
That Time Sweden Changed Its Traffic Direction in a Single Day- Dagen H

 

Obviously not working yet, but this was one of the "plans".

 

If they can't deal with one guy who has a tree at the end of a runway, I can't fathom how they would deal with many land owners. Just imagine if you had the last piece of land needed. You could hold out for years.

 

Construction aside, the most fundamental problem is the fact that the one way sections of Real Street (Market) and Perdices (Mc Donalds) are flowing the wrong way. Real should be one way going south towards Bacong and Perdices should be going north towards Sibulan. These roads are the national highway so they carry local traffic and most traffic going north and south passing thru Dumaguete. The current configuration requires traffic to criss cross at both ends of downtown. The traffic plan needs to focus on keeping these two roads flowing, so cross traffic from side streets needs to not directly cross stopping the flow. The positive thing about Dumaguete is there are no traffic lights and the natural inclination of the drivers to remain moving at all costs, with the proper plan traffic could move so much better.
The unfinished bypass road is a huge issue also, when the thru traffic can flow directly from Bacong to Sibulan it will reduce traffic a lot.

 

I was surprised to see the Highway Patrol pulling scooters over near Portal West in Saturday late afternoon's jammed traffic on Silliman St. I don't know how they decide who gets pulled over when 80% of the people are in violation of some ordinance eh?

I didn't see any signs advising of a checkpoint ahead etc-which I've read that LTO has to erect when setting up a checkpoint. Plus I though LTO checkpoints were only allowed on national roads-is Silliman St a natl road?

They had their ticket books out and were writing

 

The simple logic displayed in the one way temporary experimental traffic solutions baffles my mind : I am may not have enough information but….

Predices starts being one way, in a NORTHerly direction, at theRobinson's Mall, then goes into town and changes to a two way street for two blocks, then changes to a one way Street in a SOUTHERNLY direction at the Catholic Cathedral. Consequently everyone going SOUTH on Perdices toward Robinson Mall, is faced with a road block at the Yamaha Dealership as the street becomes one way in the opposite direction, the same, of coarse, happens when traveling north from the Robinson’s Mall when you get to the the Catholic Cathedral. There is a two block transitional area which goes both ways. Those traveling Southerly, can go westerly on the few narrow streets to catch the National Hiways which becomes a Southerly one way street, after being Northerly one way street a few blocks to the north by the Public Market… are you following my narrative? It is very confusing…

The good part is that the block in front of the Catholic Cathedral is temporarily officially one way, not just drivers cross flowing as is normal now.

The other confusing choice of one way flows is the Dumaguete- Palapinion road which is two way all the way to the National Hiway then becomes one way in in a Westerly direction. So after driving all the way in from Red Rock area in eastern direction, you must make a left turn and travel the narrow streets of Dumaguete… no continuous direction. Of course those narrow streets have vehicles parked along the side of the streets, displaying those funny “lolly-pop” like signs with a “P” crossed out in the center. Does anyone know what that sign means? lol

Nothing seems to be continuous, but soon when going down a one way street you are confronted with the same street becoming one way, in the OPPOSITE direction you have just come.

Another street program had two parallel streets being one way in the same direction, resulting in your driving about 3 blocks out of you way to get where you want to go… so more travel downtown to reach your destination? Is that how you relieve traffic problems by making people drive more in the same congested area?

Although one way streets may be a solution, the setting of directions of the one way streets taking into consideration traffic flows could be thought out much better. Having the one way streets continuous, not changing to the opposite direction would be a big step in the right direction.

Until some level of discipline of the drivers to follow the rules and the traffic people to enforce the rules occur, traffic will always be a challenge in Dumaguete, like walking thru a "Dog Park" barefooted, . Some traffic enforces need to grow a “pair”, some drivers need to loose a "pair" and drive like they live in the City of Friendly people instead of an undisciplined traffic war zone.

PS: If you want to have fun watching traffic, go in town to Lee Plaza at night during normal confusing times when the one way street transitions into a two way street. No one waits for the appointed time for change over, but just starts driving as if it is a two way street when they feel it is convenient for them to travel in that manner… It is fun to see people heading head-on toward each other. Then honking at each other… lol Oh… the discipline of the Dumaguete drivers and the traffic enforcers who mostly spent time waving at their friends.