MIGEDC-JICA Addresses Deficiency in Transport Planning and Traffic Management Know How

A training needs assessment through a survey questionnaire in early 2007 revealed that government personnel involved in transport planning and traffic management of Iloilo City and neighboring municipalities do not have even the basic knowledge and experience in the said fields. This clearly shows why the issues and problems of traffic hereabouts and around Metro Iloilo have not been resolved with definitive solutions.

The MIGEDC and JICA collaborative project involving the city and nearby towns of Pavia, Leganes, Oton, San Miguel, Sta. Barbara and the Province of Guimaras, will hold a 5-day live-in capacity building seminar-workshop on the “Basics of Transportation Planning, Traffic Management and Engineering, and Traffic Law Enforcement” on September 22-26, 2008 at the Iloilo Grand Hotel. Among other highlights of this Seminar is a fieldwork consisting of traffic survey at some spots along the major streets and avenues of Iloilo City.

Being a specialized area of concern in local governance, MIGEDC-JICA sees to it that reputed experts in the field of transport planning and traffic management are to conduct this seminar-workshop. Thus, specialists from the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) in U.P. Diliman were contracted to conduct this.

The trainors who come from NCTS are recognized mentors of many seminar-workshops, researchers on transport planning and traffic management hereabouts and around the country. Engr. Aileen Mappala, Dr. Ma. Sheilah Napalang, Engr. Sheila Flor Javier make up the team of trainors along with a former police chief, Mr. Cesar Villadores.

This capacity building exercise aims to strengthen the exposure of transport planning and traffic management personnel to later undertake the proposed “Traffic Management Action Agenda” and thus proceed to internalize or apply what they will learn from the training.

Moreover, the capacity building endeavor of MIGEDC-JICA is aimed to prepare its Technical Working Group members from Iloilo City, Oton, Pavia, Leganes, Sta. Barbara, San Miguel and the Province of Guimaras for the forthcoming social (public) experiments on traffic management at designated spots in and out of the city periphery.

The social experiment draws from the model and experience of a bustling City of Fukuyama in Japan whose traffic problems aggravated with expanding commercial activities of the place. It is hoped that the succeeding training sessions after the 5-day training will empower the community to influence the improvement of its traffic problems through the cooperative efforts of both the government and the other stakeholders.

Prepared by:
Prof. Lorenza B. Padojinog
Consultant for Training and Public Involvement
JICA Expert Team