• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod City government will enforce anew a crackdown on signs, barricades, and other obstacles that restrict access to public parking spaces fronting establishments, with the expected influx of travelers this holiday season.
The prohibition is under City Ordinance 559, which prohibits all store owners and establishments from putting up “for exclusive use” or “reserved parking only” signs, and other obstacles in front of their stores and businesses when the space is for public use.
“This ordinance aims to promote equitable access to public parking spaces, prevent traffic congestion, and ensure the smooth flow of vehicles and pedestrians within Bacolod City,” Councilor Al Victor Espino said in his resolution approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod Dec. 4.
Despite the passage of CO 559, numerous reports have been received by the SP regarding the continued practice of business establishments reserving public parking spaces for their exclusive use, thereby causing inconvenience to the public and violating the ordinance, Espino, chairperson of the SP Committee on Transport and Traffic, stressed.
The SP tasked the Bacolod Traffic and Transportation Management Department (BTTMD) to conduct a regular monitoring and inspection of business establishments within the city to identify and remove unauthorized signs, barricades, and other obstacles placed in public parking spaces.
The BTTMD has also been directed to issue warnings and impose penalties on violators in the enforcement of the ordinance that aims to safeguard public welfare and maintain order in the city’s roads and public spaces. | CGC
