BAGUIO CITY — Residents as well as visitors of Baguio City may soon see developed and improved sidewalks of one of the major tourist destination in the country if the said project will begin and be completed as scheduled without flaws.

This as the City Government recently bared an ambitious plan to develop 29,120 meters of sidewalks across eight major road sections of the Baguio. The public is yet to be convinced as some does bt such projects will not experience the same fate as the city's notorious history of delayed infrastructure and botched pedestrian projects. 

The sidewalk development project worth P250 million is slated for implementation by the Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH)  in coordination with the City Engineering Office (CEO). Baguio City Engineer Richard Benjamin Lardizabal promised standardized 1.5-meter-wide walkways complete with proper curbs, gutters, and drainage systems.

The massive budget is sliced across several locations, with the largest chunk of P59.1 million dedicated to a 7,800-meter stretch in Asin and San Luis Village. Manuel Roxas, the Rock Quarry areas, Lower Lourdes, and the Quezon Hill barangays also take up significant allocations ranging from P37 million to nearly P40 million each. Smaller but equally critical portions are designated for Brookside, Pinget, Aurora Hill, Bayan Park, General Emilio F. Aguinaldo, Upper Quirino-Magsaysay, and Ferdinand barangays, wrapping almost the entire city in a simultaneous construction web.

In the past, the DPWH and the City Government were criticized by locals for a trail of unfinished, lingering roadworks that paralyze Baguio’s already congested streets. The Baguio City government is currently trying to secure alternative funding and procurement strategies to resume two major stalled infrastructure projects. Construction on the Luna Terraces Housing Project in Barangay Irisan and the Youth Convergence Center and Sports Complex at the Baguio Athletic Bowl stopped due to budget shortfalls and contractor defaults. To finish the 662 housing units at Luna Terraces, the local government is seeking assistance from national housing programs, the National Housing Authority (NHA), and the Pag-IBIG Fund. 

Meanwhile, the city is shifting to a design-and-build scheme to accelerate the nearly P400 million sports complex after the contract of the original developer was terminated in 2024 for excessive delays caused by financial issues. Aside from these two projects, the city is also dealing with major delays in its public-private partnership pipeline. Out of eight large-scale infrastructure projects proposed under this framework, only the P1.18 billion Baguio City Integrated Terminal (BCIT) project has shown progress, though physical construction has not yet started because the design is still being revised. Three other active projects, including the Smart Urban Mobility Project, the Asin Hydroelectric Power Plants, and a bulk water supply project, remain stuck in administrative and approval stages. The remaining four proposals, including a 4.5 billion peso market redevelopment project and an 11.6 billion peso elevated monorail system, have collapsed completely after negotiations failed or sponsors withdrew. 

Another previous project that received  intense public backlash are the yellow tactile blocks installed purposely for the visually impaired that were not only improperly placed but became notoriously slippery and hazardous during the city's relentless rainy season. Instead of accessibility, critics claimed the city delivered a safety hazard, leading citizens to demand guarantees that these new standard sidewalks will prioritize genuine safety over repeat engineering oversights.

Adding to the skepticism is the city's admission of roadblock issues before a single shovel has even hit the ground. Lardizabal conceded that recovering the spaces needed for the standard width will be an uphill battle, as numerous private structures have encroached upon the road right-of-way, with some individuals even holding private titles over these spaces. 

While the city claims it is currently holding dialogues with affected parties to ensure smooth implementation, citizens remain wary. In Baguio, right-of-way disputes are notorious for dragging on for years, leaving projects half-baked and pedestrians left to walk on the dangerous fringes of the road.