The Cogon nightmare

Dave Achondo

I AM irritated. It’s annoying. The Cogon traffic jams are truly turning into a nightmare.

I am irritated because I get stuck in traffic almost daily. Who wouldn’t be? For months or years, I have been using the same route on a daily basis and until now, the problem hasn’t been fixed–or will it ever be fixed?

I don’t understand why barangay officials allow a “night cafe” near Cogon every night? I just don’t understand the logic behind this concept.

The road is already so congested without stalls, what more if there are tents and stalls in the middle of the road every night?

Did people elect retards in office?

One thing is for certain: Cogon is a freakin’ nightmare.

I am guessing that the barangay official/s who allowed street food vendors in the middle of the four-lane road from 5 pm onwards so that it becomes a mere one-and-a-half lane has/have a reason. At least, I hope so…

But have they forgotten that almost all jeepneys pass through the Cogon area?

I can understand if it is only once a week but why, in god’s name, did they allow this sort of thing to happen everyday? Don’t they understand that all roads lead to Cogon, and all jeepneys use that one way or another?

Look, this cannot go on forever. These food vendors shouldn’t be given the privilege to sell their products on the road on a daily basis. Why? Because they cause monstrous traffic jams!

Cagayan de Oro’s roads are already congested, and so, this practice only aggravates the problem. That is why we are having a traffic nightmare.

Also, this shouldn’t be allowed in the first place–not even the erstwhile “Night Cafe” in Divisoria was this annoying because it only happened on weekends. But what’s happening in Cogon is taking place every day.

Observe how the street vendors are setting up extentions. This makes the road narrower; it’s more difficult to pass through.

But what makes it all annoying is the negligence and the I-don’t-care attitude of the very people who are supposed to keep an eye on our roads and who are tasked to ensure that vehicular traffic flows smoothly. Sadly, I guess they are too busy looking the other way to even remedy the situation.