EDITORS DESK
In my neighborhood in the Scout Area of Quezon City, the street parking problem is beginning to get out of hand. I don’t live in a gated community, and so, the streets are open to through traffic. Even if I live some streets away from the main road, it’s easy to tell when there’s a traffic jam on the main roads as commuters begin taking our inner streets as a way to avoid the heavy traffic on main roads.
Lately, these inner streets haven’t been able to offer much relief as residents have begun taking advantage of parking on the street. In many ways, it has proven the theory that widening roads only encourages the use of more cars, making traffic worse. Yet rather than moving cars, it has become home to parked cars, which further obstruct traffic.
Having lived here for three decades now, I can clearly remember when the street was much narrower, yet strangely, had less of a street parking problem. Nonetheless, our streets were widened by the MMDA and DPWH, and now bear the distinct red sidewalks Quezon City is known for today. However, since then, the wider street has had the opposite effect. It has only encouraged more residents to buy more cars and park on the street because of the seemingly wider space on the road.
Too many cars
The neighbor across from me lives in a townhouse with a garage for one car. Of course, that’s not enough for his seven vehicles (three pickups, two sedans, one van, and one Vespa). The van and Vespa are parked inside while all four others are parked along the sidewalk surrounding his and my house.
Because I only have one car and two motorcycles, all of which are parked inside my garage, this neighbor has taken claim of the street parking spaces along my side as well. His cars are so massive and with heavy tint, it’s impossible to see oncoming vehicles when I’m pulling out of my driveway.
Near the corner is a family of doctors that seemingly has double of everything (two Subaru crossovers, two CR-V’s, and two Jimny’s). As you can imagine, only two cars are in the garage, two are on the driveway, and another two are on the street.
Along the entire street, it seems nearly every household has at least three cars, with at least one parking on the street. With this being the case, it has led to some truly bizarre parking arrangements.
One car that parks in front of my neighbor lives quite far down the street in the next block, where parking must be even tighter. As such, once a week, they take their motorcycle to retrieve their Chevrolet SUV. Once they move the SUV, they leave the motorcycle in its place to “save” the spot. Despite being a motorcycle, it is parked lengthwise, two feet from the sidewalk, and four feet away from any other car, preventing even a small car from parking in that space. Once they return, the SUV takes the space again and the motorcycle is gone.
This is further exacerbated by the fact that my neighborhood is beginning to turn into a restaurant haven. Many old homes have been converted into restaurants, with little care to address the parking needs of their patrons. This has forced visitors to take up the few spaces left on the road, far from the restaurant. With cars lining both sides all hours of the day. My once wide two-lane street is now barely broad enough for a large SUV to pass through.
Attracting crime
The sheer number cars on the road have inevitably attracted car-related crimes. Cases of stolen side mirrors, broken windows, and items stolen from inside the cars are on the rise again. The barangay already has a roving patrol, but with all the streets packed with cars to victimize, they’re understandably having a difficult time keeping the peace.
Not enough deterrent
In order to address this problem and ease traffic, the barangay has been forced to make some roads one-way, and has painted lines on the road to indicate the proper spaces. Still, that has only encouraged some residents to “claim” spaces rather than discourage street parking altogether.
The barangay’s next step is to charge for street parking. Residents must register vehicles that park outside and I imagine it will involve a hefty fee. However, to do that, the barangay must get the permission of city hall and DPWH of which it has not received yet. Alas, for now, the street parking problem is here to stay.
It’s a shame how some have begun to claim parts of the street as their own property. Truth be told, many of these excess vehicles are “coding cars” and only used once or twice a week when the primary vehicles cannot go out. Some are only used once every two weeks, as evident by the pile of fallen leaves on their roofs.
Wide roads are not a license to acquire more cars. In fact, they’re made that way to make it convenient for those passing through. The bill that requires owners to show proof of parking before purchase can’t come soon enough.
(Iñigo S. Roces is the Motoring Editor of Manila Bulletin)