Transportation

Just a tip–if you\’re taking the Skyway to Nuvali, make sure you stay on the right lane after you pass the Sucat exit. We once made the mistake of staying on the left and ended up in Alabang.

On another note, can\’t help but smile every time I pass the Skyway.

If you\’re a first timer in Manila, and this skyway is what you see straight from the NAIA Terminal, you would be impressed.

A friend had a visitor from London who just mumbled in awe: \”I wasn\’t expecting this.\”

It\’s interesting to wonder what people do expect when they finally decide to visit our country for the first time; even balikbayan relatives get amazed by the skyscrapers and class AAA establishments we have in Fort and Makati.  It\’s not the general impression they get from all the news they see on TV–usually sad news focusing on how poor and left behind we are, kawawa naman ang Pilipinas.

It will do us much good–individually and also collectively–to explore what makes our country beautiful, to include them in our everyday conversations with friends, family, workmates and to rally behind these gems, as much as we rally behind efforts to change the ugly.

We\’re matching! hahaha.

There was no one around to ask re the shuttle schedule, but on our way out of Nuvali, I saw this van picking up passengers and heading towards Solenad. This was on a Saturday, around 5pm. 🙂

No more left turns to Nuvali from the Sta.Rosa-Tagaytay Road– everyone going to Nuvali now turns right on the Mamplasan road…

…then makes a U-turn back towards the Nuvali main entrance.

This was implemented to address the growing volume of cars entering Nuvali, but has actually caused more traffic on the two-lane \”highway\”, to the great chagrin of motorists, especially those just passing through and with no agenda in Nuvali and its commercial and retail areas. The Skyscrapercity Nuvali thread, for example, has Sta. Rosa stakeholders (current residents, Nuvali would-be residents and investors) holding the Ayalas accountable as developers with poor planning and foresight.

With the construction of more retail areas and attractions within Nuvali itself (Robinson\’s supermarket, True Value and a slew of restaurants in Solenad 2, the Fields, the Republic Wake Park), traffic is only bound to increase, and something else must be done asap to alleviate this bottleneck. Top off head, there\’s road expansion with a dedicated left-turning lane to Nuvali or maybe a rotonda.  Great too if Mamplasan could just be made open to the public.  Alternative entrances to Nuvali can also be explored via adjacent Greenfield roads or Silangan exit.  Shuttle services from Paseo to Nuvali and back.

Wikipedia lists the typical bottleneck solutions, most of which go by the seemingly simple guideline: \”Congestion can be reduced by either increasing road capacity (supply), or by reducing traffic (demand).\”  The US Department of Transportation also collated successful efforts to combat traffic bottlenecks throughout the US, but cautions that \”there are very few \’cookie cutter\’ solutions to everyday traffic problems. Differences in volumes, right of way, design, funding, and many other variables help decide what measures are best for which locations.\”

Any solutions for the Nuvali intersection you can think of?

Definitely one of the biggest adjustments I\’ll make in moving to the South is the added cost of gas and toll!

I used to spend P500 for gas weekly and zero for toll fare. Compare that to this week, which saw at least five visits to Nuvali from Quezon City, and voila– I\’ve gone well over P1,500 for my transpo expenses in one week!

Must think of more efficient ways of traveling to and fro the city… hopefully I get to figure out the shuttle services within Nuvali itself, and from Paseo de Sta. Rosa to Makati and Ortigas.