SOMEBODY sent me a message asking, “how can ordinary citizens help you accomplish your challenge of putting order back in the streets of (Cagayan de Oro)?” I was grateful to him for asking that question because it also speaks of his concern in community issues that need the cooperation of everybody, not just leave matters to the government.
Yes, solutions to the traffic problems that we face now need the attention of all, road users or not, because they affect our daily lives. And there are complex and simple solutions.
Let us leave the complex solutions to the masters, to the traffic engineers, while every ordinary citizen could also do his or her part.
In reply to my friend’s message, I wrote:
“For one, by complying with traffic rules as motorists, pedestrians, or commuters.
“As motorists, simply by not loading or unloading passengers on the travel lane, by not parking in no-park areas, by not over-speeding, etc., including stopping for pedestrians.
“As pedestrians, by crossing only on the ‘pedxing,’ and walking in available sidewalks. As vendors, by finding permanent locations for their businesses not on sidewalks.
“As commuters, by not embarking or disembarking outside the yellow boxes.
“There are simple things citizens can effectively help restore order to our streets.
“Salamat.”
Take for example this incident. I saw a car parked on a travel lane with blinkers on. I stopped and asked the driver to move his car so he could not block the travel lane. All he said was “nag hazard man ko, ug wala ko nag park!”
I need not narrate what happened next but we could see how entitled that driver was. And we cannot deny that his attitude is a reflection of most road users we encounter daily.
Yes, there are simple solutions to the traffic problems. I could only hope that every ordinary citizen will become part of those simple solutions.
