Causes of Road Congestion in Iloilo City

Sharing on this blog post a part of the document on the Local Public Transport Plan of Iloilo City which later on to be updated to the Local Public Transportation Route Plan or LPTRP as mandated by the Department of Transportation.

The 2014 road survey done by the DPWH recorded that the city’s major roads have two to four lanes with sections of General Luna Street and Benigno Aquino Diversion Road having eight lanes, a bidirectional bike lane, and a two-lane service road. The length of roads with shoulder remains insignificant, based on the road inventory. The city’s road network is made up of radial roads, all of which originate from the central business district. During weekday rush hours, roads become congested due to the following:

  • increasing volumes of cars;
  • narrow city roads;
  • on-street parking;
  • illegal/improper parking/waiting, parking on sidewalks;
  • disorderly boarding/alighting;
  • use of certain roads as garages, terminals, workplaces, etc.;
  • presence of vendors/informal settlers on sidewalks;
  • inadequacy of traffic signals/lights, signages, markings;
  • on-going government road/drainage infrastructure and utilities projects;
  • flooding/inundation; and
  • presence of pedestrian crossings in front of schools, parks, and markets.