After implementing a new traffic scheme on Ortigas Avenue to manage morning rush-hour traffic around La Salle Green Hills, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is now looking into ‘adjustments to ease traffic flow’ along Katipunan Avenue.
Aside from serving as a pathway to the southern and eastern parts of Metro Manila from Quezon City, Katipunan Avenue also has major educational institutions located along its length: University of the Philippines Diliman, Miriam College, and Ateneo de Manila University. With the recent resumption of classes and the increasing shift back to face-to-face sessions, the area is now seeing heavier traffic congestion.
MMDA general manager Procopio Lipana conducted an early-morning inspection of the thoroughfare on September 7 and shared some traffic-mitigation measures the agency is now considering.
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“We are looking at adjusting Ateneo de Manila’s entrance gate for vehicles without stickers to accommodate more vehicles,” Lipana said, adding that they are also eyeing the utilization of the service road from Marikina near the school’s Gate 2. Currently, this service road is only used by pedestrians, but the MMDA wants to see if opening it to vehicles will improve traffic flow.
Another solution pitched by the MMDA is to limit the number of left-turning lanes into Ateneo from the southbound side of Katipunan Avenue. “We are also mulling on limiting the lanes they use into two during rush hours by putting traffic cones,” Lipana said. Left-turning vehicles usually occupy three lanes in the morning.
According to the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center, the volume of vehicles traveling southbound along Katipunan Avenue has increased by 32% in the morning and 24% in the afternoon from May to August this year. On average, there are 6,636 vehicles heading southbound from 7am to 8am, versus 2,757 vehicles traveling northbound in the same time period.
