Baguio’s biz giants shun ‘pedestrianization’ idea

(Originally published in the Feb. 5 to 11 issue of the Baguio Chronicle

--- a weekly newspaper based in Baguio City, Philippines ---

Sly L. Quintos, Associate Editor.)

“SESSION Road is not for people . . . it is for business! . . . improve Burnham Park (instead) . . . Burnham Park is for people,” burger chain franchisee, hotelier and grocery owner Mike del Rosario screamed in his usual world-class Toastmasters International’s decades of training in public speaking.

“Session Road is central business district . . . it is strictly for business, not for ‘pedestrianization’ . . . ‘predestrianizing’ is very idealistic but not applicable to Session Road . . . we will be losing a lot of business or profit . . . Session Road is not meant for promenading but purely business and profit . . . as President of the Session Road Business Association, I have to protect Session Road (from those wanting to kill our business),” added school supplies store owner Nelia Cid.

Del Rosario and Cid were just two of the about 25 business people from Session Road who gathered last Thursday at a nearby hotel fearing that the ‘pedestrianization’ of the city’s main thoroughfare is pushing them to their eventual extinction and instead turned the tables on the Recreating a People-Friendly Session Road forum held on January 27 at the University of the Cordilleras.

The forum also got the nod of Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan for an ‘experimental’ closure of a portion of Session Road to vehicular traffic for 9 hours from 3 ‘o’clock in the afternoon until midnight. Proponents of the forum preferred to call it “opening Session Road to pedestrians” (instead of “closing it to vehicular traffic”).

While Cid said she favors a no-parking Session Road (except, according to her, for the motor vehicles and delivery vans of the owners of the business establishments thereat), she argued that a national road like Session Road cannot be closed, more so if the purpose is simply to ‘pedestrianize’ it.

She said that when Session Road is closed to vehicular traffic during Flower Festivals, “we are losing business but we cooperated (with the Flower Festival organizers) . . . each time Session Road is closed for parades, we are losing business but we kept silent”.

“Those who would know the real situation in Session Road are those in business like us,” she contended.

She also scored on the group that was able to convince Mayor Domogan to close Session Road for 9 hours last January 27, saying “you excluded the business section (in hatching the idea)”.

As to the argument that ‘pedestrianizing’ Session Road would reduce pollution, Cid argued back that “pollution is not coming from the cars passing through Session Road but from vehicles at Magsaysay Avenue”.

Del Rosario was also along the same line of argument. “We are not reducing pollution (along Session Road); we are merely transferring it to another street,” he contended. “I do not think overall air quality of Baguio would improve by merely closing Session Road.”

“Why is it that each time there is a problem, you close Session Road?,” he asked. “This is bullying!”

Cid and Del Rosario both threw back all the blame on the government for faulty implementation of related laws such as the Clear Air Act and ordinances which led to the increase of sidewalks vendors which, again, adversely affected their profit.

In reply to this writer’s e-mail, environmentalist and Director of the Cordillera Conservation Trust, JP Alipio said that “this is basically not a done deal, what we did last Friday is in no way the final form of ‘pedestrianization’.”

“As you know, ‘pedestrianization’ is not just about closing the roads,” Alipio said. “It has to be a system which includes managing traffic around it, creating activities that will draw people in and stimulate business, and providing better public transport; this can be done by simply organizing what we already have --- jeeps and taxis.”

“The concerns of business are legitimate,” Alipio agreed. “But like the CEO of 7-11 who said more foot traffic means more business; in essence, the market really comes from people who do not own cars and in fact that is a much larger market, even for SM so that people who park or own cars are not actually the bulk of the people who buy or patronize establishments, instead it is the people who use public transport.”

According to Alipio, ‘pedestrianization’ involves creating a traffic management plan, vehicular reduction by either number coding, higher CBD parking prices, and better public transport.

“Business can be induced by creating activities that will draw people in, similar to how SM does it with its mall-wide events; we could have Session-wide events that induce more people to come (to Session Road instead of elsewhere),” he said.

“We have to look at the situation in three dimensions as well,” he added. “Pedestrianization does not mean that the road has to be closed all the time; maybe eventually that can happen but initially it can be timed or during certain days or times of the day.”

“I hope these people see the light or else Session Road will just degrade into the cheapest stores and really result in urban decay,” he said. “When that happens, where do you think people will go? to SM, of course, because to them, it is nicer to walk there; ‘pedestrianizing’ Session Road will make it competitive against SM.”

“It is best to expand the pie and not draw battle lines between YES or NO; there are options available to both sides where both will benefit,” he ended.

Meanwhile, Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan said during this every-Wednesday press conference Ugnayan aired live over SkyCable Community Channel 12, said ‘pedestrianizing’ Session Road is possible provided certain issues are met and satisfied.

He said that there must be an alternate road where traffic can be diverted and it must be ensured that business along Session Road must not be adversely affected. “We will surely improve air quality along Session Road (should it get ‘pedestrianized’),” he said.*