Councilors push for Divisoria car park

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent

TWO city council committees are set on submitting a proposal for the construction of a five-story building for parking in Divisoria as one of the solutions to the growing problem on vehicular congestion in downtown Cagayan de Oro.

The city council’s committees on ways and means, and trade, commerce and industry are looking at the possibility of undertaking the project through a build-operate-and-transfer scheme, said Councilor George Goking.

“Nagdaghan ang sakyanan unya wala na kita’y ka-parkingan mao nga bisan asa problema na gyud sa traffic that parking on both sides of the road has become an option,” he said.

Goking said the business sector could help city hall by looking for possible investors for the proposed BOT project.

The councilor revealed the plan after he received a study from the Civil Engineering Department of Xavier University that evaluated the on-street parking in Divisoria. The same report was submitted to the Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies.

The department said parking of vehicles along on-street or off-street areas in the area has become a problem for downtown Cagayan de Oro.

The results of the study showed that the area could no longer with the daily demand for parking spaces in the area, and that the parking conditions there are inadequate especially on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The study also showed that drivers are faced with difficulties in finding parking spaces, and the problem progresses from morning to afternoon as the demand for parking spaces also increases.

Goking said city hall should act on the worsening problem and provide motorists with more parking spaces, and constructing a building for parking would help in solving the problem.

He said the same approach should be made by barangay officials.

“Duna ma’y mga barangay nga dunay enough space. Maayo kini nga solution,” Goking said.

Former mayor Constantino Jaraula, meanwhile, proposed the construction of the building across what used to be the City Amphitheater. He said it can be called  the “City Center.”