• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod has instructed the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) to remove sidewalk and street signage, including “for exclusive use” or “reserve parking only” signs in public spaces fronting stores and business establishments.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairperson of the SP Committee on Transport and Traffic, said that City Ordinance No. 559 prohibits all store owners and establishments from putting-up signs for “exclusive use” or “reserve parking only” and other obstacles in front of their stores and business establishments since the space is for public use.
It called on the BTAO to enforce and penalize individuals and business enterprises engaging in such activities.
City Ordinance 08-15-737 also prohibits the placement of unauthorized traffic-related signage, barriers, or obstacles on public streets and sidewalks of Bacolod City that would deny or limit the access or passage of pedestrians and motor vehicles, the resolution, approved during the Feb. 28 regular session of the SP, stressed.
“It is imperative to ensure the smooth operation of road networks for the benefit of all residents of Bacolod,” Espino said, adding the obstruction of roads and thoroughfares poses significant risks to public safety, impedes traffic flow, and hampers emergency response efforts.
Espino’s committee, meanwhile, will decide on the request of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Bacolod for exemption from City Ordinance 1035, which establishes tow-away zones in the city and allows for increased clamping and towing/impounding rates.
“As a public office obligated to perform due public service, we pledge to act on compromised efforts to ensure smooth flow of traffic and safe passage for pedestrians, such as low waiting times of banks’ armored vehicles, proper vehicle parking to give ample space for walkways, and ready assistance from our blue guards to resolve impending traffic issues,” BSP Bacolod deputy director Maria Jocelyn Ladero said in her letter to Mayor Alfredo Benitez Feb. 16 and endorsed for SP action Feb. 28.
“Our toughest challenge, however, is our current location, situated along Lacson Street, with limited space for our client bank representatives’ armored vehicles, as well as the vehicles of our workforce,” Ladero explained, adding that BSP’s plan to transfer to a new and wider location at the Reclamation Area is delayed until 2026 due to ongoing procurement procedures.
Under CO 1035 passed by the SP on May 17, 2023 and which lapsed into law in June that year, absolute tow-away zones include loading and unloading zones for PUVs, within six meters or any intersection or curved lane, in front of all authorized public and private driveways, on designated bicycle lanes, within four meters of driveways or entrances to any fire station or hospital, within four meters of fire hydrants, on pedestrian crosswalks, on sidewalks, paths, and alleys not intended for parking, and on any bridge and at the foot of any bridge. | CGC
