Monument of Uselessness

A local politician had once described the controversial 5 million peso overpass at Hibbard Avenue in Dumaguete City as a "monument of uselessness."

There is much truth to this. It has been months since the project had been completed and until now, it hasn't really served any purpose. People prefer not to use it. Try observing the area for once, and you'd notice that no one actually would bother to use the overpass. Many knew even before that it would be useless. A lot of groups opposed this project from the start, claiming that it was impractical. Indeed, WE were right.

Those who were supportive of the project said that it was there for the safety of pedestrians and was a way of improving traffic.

However, the area is really safer than they think. I couldn't recall any accident that has occurred in that spot. It's not like Hibbard Avenue is a wide highway. In fact, the cars that pass that street move not that fast. One could safely cross the street without much trouble. It's only a few meters wide and it takes just a couple of seconds to completely walk from one sidewalk to the other. People would not want to wasted a couple of minutes in climbing up and down the overpass, which on the contrary, is more dangerous, considering the height and the number of steps to climb. Let us remember that most of the ones who cross the street are kids with big school bags. Don't you think it would be difficult for them to be carrying all their stuff while climbing those number of steps up then down the overpass?

The overpass actually contributed to the exact opposite of safety. There were a couple of reports of theft and hold-ups occuring on top of the overpass itself. Stories say that there would be a guy and a girl on top waiting for someone to pass by. The innocent passer-by would have no choice but to give to the demands of the holduppers.

Regarding traffic, it didn't really have any effect, since people don't use it. Instead, it just robbed a few square meters of parking space, making the area a bit more crowded. However, since a week a go, you have to say that traffic has improved, but it has nothing to do with the overpass. It is a result of the one-way traffic scheme implemented in that street, an idea which I've already suggested several times in the past.