At first, I was laughing uproariously after reading an article that showed matrices uploaded by the automotive news website called Visor. It was about the planned EDSA odd-even scheme put forth by the minds in the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for the EDSA rebuild project, originally scheduled to commence by mid-June.
The first matrix combined the EDSA odd-even scheme with the existing number coding system, whereby vehicles with plates ending in certain numbers are not allowed on the roads on certain days of the week. I felt my brain begin to constrict.
The odd-even scheme, of course, means that vehicles with plates ending in either odd or even numbers would be prohibited from EDSA on alternate days. Easy enough, but, take note: EDSA only.
So that matrix turned out to be incorrect, as the proposed odd-even scheme was only meant for EDSA. Which begged the question: what rule would apply to other roads?
The answer came swiftly enough — or was caught in traffic, maybe, as it came a day later. The MMDA clarified, said Visor, that the new scheme would apply only to EDSA, while the existing number coding system would still apply to other roads. Brain dance.
So what Visor did — presumably to make the whole plan clear in the minds of motorists who already have plenty of other things to worry about — was to create two separate matrices for each scheme, then it asked its source (Bang Ang) to combine the two in one table.
The resulting matrix had me laughing so much I almost had tears in my eyes, not only because that table boggled the hell out of my left brain, but I also realized that we have snarls — both on our roads and in our government — because we complicate matters like it’s a talent.
A recent visit to the DAILY TRIBUNE by Transport chief Vince Dizon left a reassuring buzz because of his energy and drive. Ready for EDSA? We asked him then, a few days before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. canceled the dreaded plan.
Well, it has to be done, he said (or something to that effect) — and that was the reassuring part, knowing that it had taken many years before someone actually said a major government project would finally see the light of day.
I applauded the gumption of this administration. How genuine, I thought, for Marcos Jr. to pursue this project that would certainly put his tenuous popularity at risk. Everyone knows that long-drawn, hellish traffic is a kind of torture that can bring a president down.
The fact that it had taken years for such a plan to see fruition could bring tears to the eyes of Filipinos long inconvenienced by the very highway they once believed was the path to freedom.
But, what the heck, let’s laugh about it. Monday comes and the plan is shelved. That confusing matrix will have to be reviewed as well because, in the words of MMDA Chairman Don Artes, “The postponement will give us time to look for other traffic mitigating options for the Edsa rebuild, which will be less burdensome to motorists and the commuting public.”
Finding the right solution to unburden some of the already burdensome can be a challenge for the brain, indeed.
Our transport sector, led by various related agencies, has historically been the very matrix of chaos in the eyes of motorists and commuters.
From fixing potholes to issuing license plates, to unreliable street signs and traffic control innovations like the No-Contact Apprehension Policy — we can expect transport woes to continue until the sector itself is untangled from its own hoary mess.