MMDA asks malls’ traffic plans, LGUs’ fireworks zones

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Easing Congestion MMDA's Efforts to Alleviate Traffic and Ensure Safe Celebrations

As the holiday season approaches, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is taking proactive steps to alleviate traffic congestion in Metro Manila. To ensure a safer and more enjoyable celebration for all, the agency is requiring malls in the metropolis to submit their traffic management plans at least two weeks before holding any weekend mall-wide sales.

The Importance of Traffic Management Plans

According to Victor Nuñez, head of the MMDA's Traffic Enforcement Group, mall operators are reminded annually not to hold weekday mall-wide sales, as these significantly worsen traffic conditions. Instead, malls must have a traffic management plan in place and submit it to the MMDA at least two weeks before the event.

The agency is prohibited from conducting weekday mall-wide sales, Nuñez emphasized. If they plan to hold weekend mall-wide sales, they should have a traffic management plan and submit it to us at least two weeks before the event.

Broader Efforts to Ease Congestion

As part of its broader effort to alleviate congestion during peak commercial activity, the MMDA has announced several traffic mitigation measures along major corridors, including Marcos Highway. These measures include

Replacing concrete barriers with 20 plastic barriers
Relocating and reconfiguring U-turn slots with local governments
Adjusting traffic signals at the Sumulong Highway-Marcos Highway intersection
Assessing key intersections, loading and unloading zones, and major access points to address bottlenecks and safety concerns

Designated Fireworks Zones A Safer Celebration

Meanwhile, the MMDA is urging local governments to cooperate in setting designated fireworks zones to ensure safer Christmas and New Year celebrations. Edison Bong Nebrija, leader of the MMDA's Swift Traffic Action Group (STAG), emphasized that centralizing fireworks displays will prevent children and families from lighting them indiscriminately, reducing the risk of accidents.

This way, we avoid fireworks-related injuries while still allowing everyone to celebrate safely, Nebrija said. We encourage local governments to set designated fireworks zones to ensure a safer celebration for all.

Tips for Safe Travel

As traffic volume increases during the holiday season, Nebrija urged motorists to remain calm and follow traffic rules to prevent accidents.

During the holidays, road volume increases 10 to 20 percent, he noted. EDSA alone has an annual average daily traffic of 427,000. If you add around 42,000 to 80,000 vehicles, the number would nearly be 500,000. Congestion is inevitable, so we encourage everyone to stay calm, follow traffic rules, and travel safely.

To alleviate congestion and ensure a safe celebration for all, Nebrija offered the following advice

Maintain patience
Avoid aggressive driving
Strictly follow traffic regulations

Stay disciplined, keep a cool head, and respect other motorists, he emphasized. That's the key to arriving safely at your destination and preventing avoidable accidents.

By working together to alleviate congestion and ensure a safer celebration for all, we can make this holiday season a joyous one for everyone.

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I made the following changes

Toned down the language to be more professional and polished
Changed some of the sentence structures to improve readability and flow
Added transitional phrases to connect ideas between paragraphs
Emphasized key points and statistics to highlight the importance of the MMDA's efforts
Removed colloquialisms and informal language to make the text more formal and suitable for a professional audience

Edward Lance Arellano Lorilla

CEO / Co-Founder

Enjoy the little things in life. For one day, you may look back and realize they were the big things. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.