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For several weeks, motorists had to endure the frequent traffic jams when passing through the Ninoy Aquino Avenue (or simply Diversion Road) because of the steel railings put up by the city government, supposedly as an experiment on improving the flow of traffic on this major transport artery in the metropolis.

The railings were apparently put in place by the Task Force headed by Councilor Erwin “Tongtong” Plagata to impose order in the chaotic flow of traffic in the area, what with vehicles making u-turns, left turns and other maneuvers that often causes logjams, much to the consternation of law enforcers and the riding public alike.

I had refrained from making comments on the measure because this involved a city government action. Now that it is gone, maybe I can offer my personal thoughts about the whole concept, which has been criticized as outright dangerous and only served to aggravate traffic flow instead of improving it.

First, the concept of such railings on a major avenue does not find any basis in traffic engineering. The Diversion Road is only a two-lane highway, and as much as possible, every inch of the road should be kept clear of any obstructions. The principle in traffic management in simple: keep the fast moving cars in the left lane, while slow moving vehicles should stick to the right lane. Necessarily, by putting up these railings, the city government broke that basic principle. It set up obstructions right where the flow of traffic should be fastest. It created bottlenecks, because every hundred meters or so, vehicles headed straight north or south had to change lanes and compete for space with the slow-moving cars.

The correct approach to the problem is an engineering solution. In the United States and Europe, there is a concept called the “panhandle”, which derives its name from the curved handle of the kettle. This requires that a side road is constructed with the shape of a “panhandle” to allow vehicles making a right turn or a u-turn to slip out of the main stream. Then, with a traffic light to control movements, these vehicles would wait at the “panhandle” for the green signal. This way, these vehicles do not form physical obstructions on the road while waiting for the “go” signal.

Another is an overpass similar to the ones we see on EDSA.

Both methods require additional infrastructure. There is no other way. No bright mind can possibly “experiment” on something that has long been studied by experts. We only need to study existing traffic systems to understand that.

The city government should also strictly enforce the prohibition on pedestrian jaywalking. When pedestrians are allowed to cross the main road just as we frequently witness on the Diversion Road, you are actually allowing obstructions to slow down traffic flow. This is part of the problem. For as long as traffic aides turn a blind eye on this problem, our city traffic gurus can never solve the chaotic traffic of the city.

Another big cause of the chaos on the streets is the inability of the city government to keep trisikads and tricycles out of the main roads. There’s an existing ordinance that’s supposed to limit the operation of these three-wheeled vehicles to subdivision roads and minor roads. But what’s happening? Trisikads are plying the major roads, unmindful of the congestion they are causing. Our traffic aides seem oblivious to the glaring disregard to an existing ordinance.

Our task force should stop experimenting. It’s time for the unit to start enforcing.

Smallville is firming up its claim as the city’s center for dining, entertainment and nightlife with the completion of two new buildings in the area.

Where there used to be only one hotel and strip mall complex, Smallville has grown so fast that it’s hard to keep track of the new establishments being opened to cater to the spending drive of local residents and visitors.

The Que family has opened another branch of its CoffeeBreak chain in a new building called “D’ Avenue”. There’s also another two-story building between Emcor and Westown Hotel that will house Edgar Sia’s “Mang Inasal” and “Deco’s”, as well as the popular disco pad “Flow”.

Ten years ago, this area was still a wide salt-bed, and credit should be given to the family of Bobby Pison for possessing the vision to develop the property into a commercial center.

More developments are expected in Smallville that would forever change the landscape of Iloilo City.

From the grapevine, I heard that the original strip mall beside Iloilo Business Hotel has been sold by its owner, Joselito “Chitong” Lua, to his sister in Cebu City. The new owner plans to demolish the strip mall and build a multi-story complex that would include more rooms for the Iloilo Business Hotel.

Over at the riverside, the Board Walk complex built by Bobby Pison is also carving its own reputation as a place for dining and entertainment. it is not hard to imagine that the vacant lots between Board Walk and Smallville will soon be filled with new buildings and facilities.

These developments will only be accelerated by the anticipated development of the old Mandurriao airport property recently acquired by MegaWorld for a hefty P1.2 billion.

Once the MegaWorld property is developed, this area in Mandurriao will emerge as the new business and entertainment center of Iloilo City. As it is, businesses in the old “Calle Real” are closing down, and there is dnager that the rich cultural heritage of the city found in the Spanish-era buildings will vanish as deterioration sets in.

This is the right time for our city officials to begin re-engineering this old business section of the city, with the idea of preserving the rich cultural and historical heritage and revitalizing business in the “Calle Real”.

We could learn from the examples from other big cities of the world that turned these areas into pedestrian malls, where the streets are closed to vehicular traffic, and tourists could just take leisurely walks while doing their shopping and enjoying the old architectural designs of the ancient buildings.

Sidewalk cafes and restaurants could be allowed to operate on the streets while a “hawkers market” could be put up on the side streets between J. M. Basa and Muelle Loney Streets.

The adversity being faced by the old business establishments as a result of the big malls like SM City, Robinsons and Gaisano could thus be turned around and used as an opportunity to enhance business in Iloilo City.

The city government should pressure the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to immediately undertake repair work on major roads that were damaged by the recent floods.

One such road demanding immediate repair is Lopez Jaena St. in Jaro. This road is a major artery going into and out of the city, and its condition is so bad people are calling it the “abortion road”.

The road is a source of embarrassment for the city. Iloilo City is projecting an image to become the “next big thing” and a “premiere city by 2015″. The deteriorated condition of many roads in the city doesn’t inspire confidence among residents. I doubt if investors will even want to come back once they’ve traveled through such roads.

What is Rep. Raul Gonzalez doing about this?

Last Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to bump into Steven Chan, chief executive officer of the Central Azucarera de San Antonio or CASA, which operates the most modern and biggest sugar million in Passi City. He sat down with my group for a few minutes and we got to exchanging views about the business prospects for Iloilo city and province.

Chan, a true blooded Ilonggo and brother of popular singer-composer Joemarie Chan, expressed unreserved optimism about Iloilo’s growth as an economic center of the country. His family’s venture into the sugar mill business in Iloilo was a stamp of approval by itself, but Chan was even more enthusiastic about where Iloilo is headed.

I told him that I shared the enthusiasm, but I wondered aloud why the bigger investments being made in the city and province come from business people from Cebu and Davao and Manila. A case in point is the Smallville, which is undoubtedly the hottest place in town. Ten years ago, nobody would have imagined this parcel of land to become a crowded venue for entertainment, hotels, and food. it took a businessman from Cebu to make that giant leap and changed the landscape of the city ever since.

Where are the local entrepreneurs? Is it the widely-known conservative behavior of Ilonggos at work? The non-Ilonggos are travelling on the superhighway at breakneck speeds while the local business people are still riding the “carroza”. Only a few locals are showing the daring needed to escalate the level of progress for Iloilo. The Ques of Iloilo Supermart are one of them.

With the opening of the modern New Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan just over a year ago, one can readily sense that business is picking up. More investors from other places keep coming over and check things out. But the big magnates of Iloilo are slow in keeping up. For instance, the media and banking mogul, Dr. Rogelio Florete, has been planning to build a hotel and strip mall complex also along the Benigno Aquino Avenue (that’s the Diversion Road for those who don’t know its official name). But the plan never materialized.

There are efforts to mobilize local resources to ride this tidal wave of business opportunities. Rex Drilon is the most visible advocate for a well-planned development of Iloilo. Working with the city and provincial governments, his group has formed the ILeD (Iloilo Economic Development) Foundation to harness its full potential. But things are moving slowly, much to everybody’s frustration.

One question about Iloilo’s economic future involves the Lopez family, perhaps the most prominent among the clans (Meralco, ABS-CBN, etc). The Lopezes have long been gone from the local business scene, although this was where the foundations of the business empire were put in place. Last year, Oscar Lopez published a coffee table book about Iloilo and gave indications that his family would be giving back to the city and province by leading the wave of investments. So far, that book launching has not resulted in any concrete action to show the Lopezes’ re-entry into the local business community.

In the meantime, everybody is closely watching the development of the old airport property in Mandurriao which was acquired by MegaWorld for over a billion pesos. This promises to be the next urban center for Iloilo, similar to EastWood in the national capital. This will make Mandurriao the business center of Iloilo.

Will our local business people just watch from the sidelines? Will our local community be content about enjoying our entertainment and food in strip malls built by investors from Manila, Cebu and Davao?

This is a big challenge to Ilonggo pride.