Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
I Ate Flyovers Again For Breakfast: And Why It’s Getting Sickening For Cebu
Yes, it’s sickening. The word “Flyovers” is now becoming agitating and irritating.
Each and every time I drive by past a flyover, I can’t help but wonder how much went to the pockets of those who signed for the approval of these infrastructures to get built.
So they want the Flyovers in Cebu City to get built as soon as possible. It’s like hearing these people say, “let’s get these built to get the money as soon as possible”. Apparently, each flyover will cost roughly Ph600 Million, and being among those who have done government projects in the past, probably 20% of that amount definitely is not bad for the pockets of those who want to get rich fast by building fast.
What’s frustrating about some of the key decision makers of this country is that, they hear the people’s voice when they run for office, and yet they tend to get selective amnesia once they are seated in their respective offices.
Real representatives ought to GENUINELY REPRESENT the valid concerns of the people.
It's needless to say that the taxpayers' money ought to be spent on those that will bring outcomes for the common good, and I say it again anyway for the sake of sickening emphasis.
That is why the sight of the blue buses running around the city with the face of this decision maker pisses me off. It should have been the people’s faces, the taxpayers, that should be painted there and not the two of you, unless of course they took the money out of their own pockets. And seeing these blue buses parked at the busy intersections at the whims of the unmindful drivers is not cute at all...reflecting how capricious the faces on that bus are in representing the city.
So let it be.
Build fast because that is one way of getting million pesos richer fast.
Because if these flyovers should rise, each one becomes a landmark of the plain misinformation that has unfortunately plagued some of the key decision-makers of Cebu. It validates who to vote for and who not to vote for…who to trust and who not to trust.
The flyover debate and controversy is but a blessing in disguise. It definitely gives us a good understanding of what these officials are made of. Because what they don’t know can really hurt Cebu. And what they refuse to understand is what's sickening and deadly.
Related Articles:
The True Relationship Among Cebu Flyovers, Congressmen, and Karma
The Ugly Truth About Flyovers: Why Cebu Stays Beautiful Without Flyovers?
Let’s delay building flyovers
Flyovers, a threat to historical sites, says Mayor Rama
Feelings for flyovers, growing pains (..continued from last Saturday)
Each and every time I drive by past a flyover, I can’t help but wonder how much went to the pockets of those who signed for the approval of these infrastructures to get built.
So they want the Flyovers in Cebu City to get built as soon as possible. It’s like hearing these people say, “let’s get these built to get the money as soon as possible”. Apparently, each flyover will cost roughly Ph600 Million, and being among those who have done government projects in the past, probably 20% of that amount definitely is not bad for the pockets of those who want to get rich fast by building fast.
What’s frustrating about some of the key decision makers of this country is that, they hear the people’s voice when they run for office, and yet they tend to get selective amnesia once they are seated in their respective offices.
 | |
| “Sustainable development seeks to meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability to meet those of the future” (The Bruntland Report, 1987) Photo credits: http://www.euroecoteens.net |
Real representatives ought to GENUINELY REPRESENT the valid concerns of the people.
It's needless to say that the taxpayers' money ought to be spent on those that will bring outcomes for the common good, and I say it again anyway for the sake of sickening emphasis.
That is why the sight of the blue buses running around the city with the face of this decision maker pisses me off. It should have been the people’s faces, the taxpayers, that should be painted there and not the two of you, unless of course they took the money out of their own pockets. And seeing these blue buses parked at the busy intersections at the whims of the unmindful drivers is not cute at all...reflecting how capricious the faces on that bus are in representing the city.
So let it be.
Build fast because that is one way of getting million pesos richer fast.
Because if these flyovers should rise, each one becomes a landmark of the plain misinformation that has unfortunately plagued some of the key decision-makers of Cebu. It validates who to vote for and who not to vote for…who to trust and who not to trust.
The flyover debate and controversy is but a blessing in disguise. It definitely gives us a good understanding of what these officials are made of. Because what they don’t know can really hurt Cebu. And what they refuse to understand is what's sickening and deadly.
Related Articles:
The True Relationship Among Cebu Flyovers, Congressmen, and Karma
The Ugly Truth About Flyovers: Why Cebu Stays Beautiful Without Flyovers?
Let’s delay building flyovers
Flyovers, a threat to historical sites, says Mayor Rama
Feelings for flyovers, growing pains (..continued from last Saturday)
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Ugly Truth About Flyovers: Why Cebu Stays Beautiful Without Flyovers?
Flyovers are not just ugly. Building these can be an indication that a city is poorly planned, or worse, not planned at all.
In simple analogy, building a flyover to address congestion is a band aid solution. It's an afterthought.
It is an obvious indication that the city has no working plan at all. It is a reactive solution.
Cebu City does not need more flyovers. Cebu City needs proactive solutions that will work in the long term. Cebu needs sustainable solutions that will not only solve traffic congestion in intersections, but will also make the lives of the people more convenient.
What Cebuanos need is a Master Plan for a transportation system that will help make everyone productive and will make this city more liveable, safe and environmentally sound.
The heated debate over having 2 flyovers built in Cebu City is still on-going among local and national stakeholders, and a request to postpone the construction of the flyovers has reached the Palace.
If I were P'Noy, I will also agree with stopping the construction of these flyovers.
Here are the top 3, among many, reasons why Cebu should stop building flyovers:
1) Flyovers are not just costly, these are ugly. In a sound cost-benefit analysis, flyovers will turn out to be overpriced for the benefits that these shall yield, if any, in the long run. Look at Metro Manila now, and urban planners will agree that the flyovers have made the city a living example of many "afterthought" remedies. Flyovers are cures to bad urban planning that never work, and have remained to be quick, but ugly, remedy to poor decisions in road networking and planning.
2) Flyovers do not work. Instead, a city that starts building flyovers, will keep building flyovers in clogged intersections, unless the root of the problem will be addressed. In the end, Cebu City will become a city of flyovers. If you are still convinced or think that it works somehow, well, look at the flyover that was built at the intersection near Parklane Hotel and Cebu Business Park (Ayala Center, cebu). Until now, that intersection remains busy as hell. That’s just one, among the many examples of flyovers that remain to be temporary cures to the root causes of congestion. Poorly planned cities in other parts of the world are also having problems caused by building flyovers.
3) Flyovers do not solve the real cause of congestion. Building a single one to solve a congestion problem is an indication that the existing transportation system is not working. Decision makers need to take a look at the bigger picture and see that what Cebu City really needs is a Masterplan (as it never had one in the past. Such a shame for a highly urbanized city). Any liveable city across the globe has a working Master Plan. These cities have working Mass Transportation System that allows people to get from point A to point B within a short time. Cebu City is too small to have a bad traffic congestion problem in the first place. Relative to its size, it should never have such only if the transportation system works.
It is sad to see that Cebu City is growing like an organism that has no definite shape at all. In about 10 to 50 years from now, it is like a living thing which no one knows exactly how it gets shaped into. Try using Google Earth, and compare Cebu City's footprint to the top cities of the world that are well planned and are really the most liveable places. I'm sure you will wish Cebu should have been planned better, if there was any plan at all.
What Cebu City really needs is a Master Plan that:
1) respects the environment – should have pocket parks and bike lanes, pavements that allow rainwater to seep through;
2) allows people to live in a City with walkable streets – shaded walks and canopies, car-free zones;
3) has child-friendly landscapes – our existing motorized streets are surely not kid-friendly. Child-friendly cities are most liveable and are very appropriate for all ages;
4) encourages low carbon emissions – thus, should have mass transportation systems to encourage people to leave their cars at home or in nodes and commute more due to the benefits from reduced travel time and convenience with a mass transport; and
the list could go on…and to me, such ideals are not ambitious. These solutions are more than practical and sound, for those who really understand what sustainable development means. If it worked in other cities, why can’t it work for Cebu City that’s really relatively small in scale and relatively easy to manage.
Thoughts create things. I love to live in a city that works. I would love to live in the new Cebu City that really works.
__________________________________________________________
About the author:
A professional B2B web content provider since 2008.
Finished BS Architecture from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
Graduated Master of Science in Urban Environmental Management from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.
__________________________________________________________
Universal Life Secrets. Transform your life and create your desired reality with Universal Life Secrets. Click Here!
Discover "The Secret" To Creating The Fulfilling Life You Desire Click Here!
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Other Related Stories:
In simple analogy, building a flyover to address congestion is a band aid solution. It's an afterthought.
It is an obvious indication that the city has no working plan at all. It is a reactive solution.
Cebu City does not need more flyovers. Cebu City needs proactive solutions that will work in the long term. Cebu needs sustainable solutions that will not only solve traffic congestion in intersections, but will also make the lives of the people more convenient.
What Cebuanos need is a Master Plan for a transportation system that will help make everyone productive and will make this city more liveable, safe and environmentally sound.
The heated debate over having 2 flyovers built in Cebu City is still on-going among local and national stakeholders, and a request to postpone the construction of the flyovers has reached the Palace.
If I were P'Noy, I will also agree with stopping the construction of these flyovers.
Here are the top 3, among many, reasons why Cebu should stop building flyovers:
 |
| The best cities of the world are not building flyovers. They are making Master Plans that allow people to become productive amidst the urbanization of their cities while still enjoying the liveable qualities in working and sustainable cities. Photo: Melbourne at night. It is one of the most liveable cities of the world. Credits: www.dreamstime.com |
2) Flyovers do not work. Instead, a city that starts building flyovers, will keep building flyovers in clogged intersections, unless the root of the problem will be addressed. In the end, Cebu City will become a city of flyovers. If you are still convinced or think that it works somehow, well, look at the flyover that was built at the intersection near Parklane Hotel and Cebu Business Park (Ayala Center, cebu). Until now, that intersection remains busy as hell. That’s just one, among the many examples of flyovers that remain to be temporary cures to the root causes of congestion. Poorly planned cities in other parts of the world are also having problems caused by building flyovers.
3) Flyovers do not solve the real cause of congestion. Building a single one to solve a congestion problem is an indication that the existing transportation system is not working. Decision makers need to take a look at the bigger picture and see that what Cebu City really needs is a Masterplan (as it never had one in the past. Such a shame for a highly urbanized city). Any liveable city across the globe has a working Master Plan. These cities have working Mass Transportation System that allows people to get from point A to point B within a short time. Cebu City is too small to have a bad traffic congestion problem in the first place. Relative to its size, it should never have such only if the transportation system works.
It is sad to see that Cebu City is growing like an organism that has no definite shape at all. In about 10 to 50 years from now, it is like a living thing which no one knows exactly how it gets shaped into. Try using Google Earth, and compare Cebu City's footprint to the top cities of the world that are well planned and are really the most liveable places. I'm sure you will wish Cebu should have been planned better, if there was any plan at all.
What Cebu City really needs is a Master Plan that:
1) respects the environment – should have pocket parks and bike lanes, pavements that allow rainwater to seep through;
2) allows people to live in a City with walkable streets – shaded walks and canopies, car-free zones;
3) has child-friendly landscapes – our existing motorized streets are surely not kid-friendly. Child-friendly cities are most liveable and are very appropriate for all ages;
4) encourages low carbon emissions – thus, should have mass transportation systems to encourage people to leave their cars at home or in nodes and commute more due to the benefits from reduced travel time and convenience with a mass transport; and
the list could go on…and to me, such ideals are not ambitious. These solutions are more than practical and sound, for those who really understand what sustainable development means. If it worked in other cities, why can’t it work for Cebu City that’s really relatively small in scale and relatively easy to manage.
Thoughts create things. I love to live in a city that works. I would love to live in the new Cebu City that really works.
__________________________________________________________
About the author:
A professional B2B web content provider since 2008.
Finished BS Architecture from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
Graduated Master of Science in Urban Environmental Management from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.
__________________________________________________________
IMPROVE YOUR LIFE NOW!
The Self-Confidence Formula For Success Click Here!Universal Life Secrets. Transform your life and create your desired reality with Universal Life Secrets. Click Here!
Discover "The Secret" To Creating The Fulfilling Life You Desire Click Here!
It's Your Web Presence That Counts The Most
PLACE YOUR ADS HERE!
Contact: info(at)dscribes.com
Other Related Stories:
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
What to Do in Cebu City and Among Millions Reasons to Visit Cebu City Philippines
If you're still thinking where to go for the remaining days of the holiday season, think no more.
I've been trying to find nice places to go in other countries, when the best place to see was just literally right under my nose. Cebu!
Although I've been out the country and back often, I only had the chance to see Cebu again this December. If there's one thing I can say, it's really one of the nicest cities I have been for so many reasons.
Cebu island is the geographical center of this country. Cebu City, the capital of Cebu, has all the convenience any tourist can want. The metropolitan comfort, the nice beach, not that bad traffic, and being a compact city, makes getting around this city more 'touristy' than anywhere else.
There are probably 5 top reasons to come here this time:
1) See the Sinulog Festival 2010. It happens yearly, on the 3rd Sunday of January, to honor
Cebu City's patron saint Sr. Sto. Nino. Witness the parade of colors and dances along the major thoroughfares of Cebu City. If you go around the city on this day, be ready to be on foot, as it is difficult to get on any vehicle as people will be walking along the streets.
2) The Sky is the limit. The very first in the world, experience
going around the edge of the of Crown Regency hotel's 38th floor, by riding on a cart that tilts, and on the 37th floor, by walking, located just at the smack of Cebu City. You can also bring your kids to the 4D theater experience and watch a series of short movies on 4D format. International buffet is also served at the 19th floor, giving you a pleasant view of the entire city.
3) Imperial Palace Water park Resort and Spa. If you want to enjoy the beach, while having the
thrill of the water rides, this place is for you. Designed for all ages, you'll get that beach feeling while submerged in the pool. Experience fun water rides and get luxurious hotel experience. Located at Mactan Island, a few minutes away from the Mactan International Airport, be ready for your ultimate water park experience.
4) A wide array of entertainment, food choices and relaxing mall experience. Cebu City has already been
transformed into a 'mall rat' culture in just a decade, and you will never get 
disappointed with the wide array of shops and food establishments to choose from at Ayala Center Cebu or SM City Cebu. Asiatown IT Park at Lahug Cebu City is also a favorite destination for people who do not sleep. It's open until the wee hours of the morning as it is where callcenters are sprawling all over, offering a wide choices for dining, clubbing, and hanging out experience.
5) Cheap domestic and international flights always cater to local 
and international tourists. Book a flight earlier, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (Philippine time) and you will save tons which you can spend on dining, shopping, and getting around instead.
Cebu City is just the place to be!
I've been trying to find nice places to go in other countries, when the best place to see was just literally right under my nose. Cebu!
Although I've been out the country and back often, I only had the chance to see Cebu again this December. If there's one thing I can say, it's really one of the nicest cities I have been for so many reasons.
Cebu island is the geographical center of this country. Cebu City, the capital of Cebu, has all the convenience any tourist can want. The metropolitan comfort, the nice beach, not that bad traffic, and being a compact city, makes getting around this city more 'touristy' than anywhere else.
There are probably 5 top reasons to come here this time:
1) See the Sinulog Festival 2010. It happens yearly, on the 3rd Sunday of January, to honor
Cebu City's patron saint Sr. Sto. Nino. Witness the parade of colors and dances along the major thoroughfares of Cebu City. If you go around the city on this day, be ready to be on foot, as it is difficult to get on any vehicle as people will be walking along the streets.2) The Sky is the limit. The very first in the world, experience
going around the edge of the of Crown Regency hotel's 38th floor, by riding on a cart that tilts, and on the 37th floor, by walking, located just at the smack of Cebu City. You can also bring your kids to the 4D theater experience and watch a series of short movies on 4D format. International buffet is also served at the 19th floor, giving you a pleasant view of the entire city.3) Imperial Palace Water park Resort and Spa. If you want to enjoy the beach, while having the
thrill of the water rides, this place is for you. Designed for all ages, you'll get that beach feeling while submerged in the pool. Experience fun water rides and get luxurious hotel experience. Located at Mactan Island, a few minutes away from the Mactan International Airport, be ready for your ultimate water park experience.4) A wide array of entertainment, food choices and relaxing mall experience. Cebu City has already been
transformed into a 'mall rat' culture in just a decade, and you will never get disappointed with the wide array of shops and food establishments to choose from at Ayala Center Cebu or SM City Cebu. Asiatown IT Park at Lahug Cebu City is also a favorite destination for people who do not sleep. It's open until the wee hours of the morning as it is where callcenters are sprawling all over, offering a wide choices for dining, clubbing, and hanging out experience.5) Cheap domestic and international flights always cater to local and international tourists. Book a flight earlier, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (Philippine time) and you will save tons which you can spend on dining, shopping, and getting around instead.Cebu City is just the place to be!
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