The Davao City Traffic and Transport Management Office (CTTMO), in coordination with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has concluded the five-day capacity-building training and traffic management plan formulation on Friday, February 24.

The MMDA conducted a thorough inspection of the traffic situation in the city and assessed the efficacy of its implementing traffic management system through ocular inspections of traffic facilities, traffic count, road inventory surveys, and focus group discussions.

The agency also shared with the CTTMO its technical expertise on the formulation of a cohesive and effective traffic management plan.

The training program ended on Friday with the MMDA presenting its initial findings, the aggregate of which will serve as basis for traffic management plan proposal

CTTMO Chief Dionisio Abude, in an interview with the City Information Office on Monday, said the data gathered by the MMDA yielded insights that are essential in improving the traffic management system of the city.

“Naay mga findings nila pero gina-finalize pa para mao tong among ginatawag na traffic management plan (There are findings but they are still being finalized to be used in the formulation of a traffic management plan),” Abude said.

Abude added that the MMDA’s overall assessment of the traffic situation in the city has been favorable, especially since the agency saw the ongoing road repairs.

The joint training program also exposed the necessity to keep an accurate traffic count of major roads in the city in order to measure the annual average daily traffic in the metropolitan area.

“Ang kadtong traffic count nato, wala tay data. So dili nato maadjust ang atong mga traffic signal tungod kay wala gyud tay kapasidad sa pag traffic count sa mga sakyanan. So mao toy pinaka-focus gyud na wala ta sa Davao (We do not have data on our traffic cont. That is why we cannot adjust our traffic signals because we do not the have the ability to conduct a traffic count of vehicles),” said Abude.

During the training program, Abude said several CTTMO personnel learned how to properly conduct a traffic count.

He added the knowledge imparted by the MMDA team is invaluable to improve the capabilities of CTTMO personnel.

“Dako pud kaayog advantage sa atong mga enforcer nga gi-impart pud nila ilang experiences ug ilang knowledge kay kabalo man ta na grabe pud ang traffic sa Manila, so naa silay mga knowledge na na-impart na magamit pud nato diri sa atong mga traffic enforcers (The knowledge they shared is really an advantage for our enforcers. They gained experience from dealing with the traffic situation in Manila so they really have first-hand knowledge that are useful to our traffic enforcers),” Abude said. CIO