Due to oppositions from business estalishments along Lacson St., the proposed sites for the Bacolod flyover were changed from Lacson – B.S. Aquino and Lacson – Burgos junctions to Lacson-Circumferential (Bangga Pepsi) and Araneta-Magsaysay.
It was reported that the project consultant Woodfields Consultants Incorporated was on the stage of designing the flyover together with Geoscience Technologies Incorporated which was employed to conduct soil/geotechnical investigation.
A press release from DPWH said that construction for the Magsaysay flyover may commence this March or April and if funds will be available, the Bangga Pepsi flyover will immediately follow.
The change in the sites of the Bacolod flyover are welcomed developments since the new proposed sites are also bottlenecks during rush hours.
Araneta and Lacson streets are main thoroughfares in Bacolod City. Lacson street leads to Northern Negros Occidental while Araneta to Southern Negros Occidental therefore most vehicles going to and fro Bacolod City pass by these streets daily.
Bacolod does not need flyovers, perhaps traffic lights with at least a couple of traffic officers will suffice.
In the case of Bangga Pepsi, why not construct an police/traffic outpost instead of a multi-million flyover. This way, the speeders: trucks and private motorists who seem to travel on the Talisay-Bacolod highway as though their own private drag racing circuit should monitor and control the traffic in the area, 24/7 if they have to. And not only speeders but the road-ragers who seem to own the road where they travel.
Also when travelling from Talisay to Bacolod, approaching Bangga Pepsi, a motorist sometimes “forget” that they are already on the thickly populated area. Perhaps 3 reflectorized even better if lighted road signs 4×6 feet every 100 meters on the approach to Bangga Pepsi should remind motorists that they should slow down as they are nearing a crossroad of thichly populated area and an accident prone area.
Bottom line, a styrategecally placed road signs and a police/traffic outpost in Bangga Pepsi will definitely affect the motorists attitude in the area everytime they see an open police/traffic outpost on the corner with a wary desk officer at his desk and perhaps a couple of traffic officers watching the traffic from the comfort of the outpost.