CARANTES ST. TO BE USED AS ‘SHARED STREET’ AFTER ROAD IMPROVEMENT

October 29, 2022 Metro BLISTT

Carantes St. and Perfecto St. will be utilized as a shared street once the streetscape development is completed. A shared street is an urban design concept wherein a roadway is shared by pedestrians and motorists. The ongoing streetscape development includes the rehabilitation of the entire stretch of Carantes St. and the improvement of a portion of Perfect St. It is a collaborative work by the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), the City Engineering Office (CEO), the City Buildings and Architecture Office, and the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO).

The said the project aims to create a ‘pleasant environment’ where people will be involved in “different social, cultural, and tourism activities.” The rehabilitation of Carantes St. includes the incorporation of tactile blocks; rehabilitation of the existing drainage; and the installation of solarized road studs, solar
powered bollards, chair bollards, solar power lamp posts, steel grates for water run-offs, and a temperature box scanner.

Meanwhile, Perfecto St. will also be installed with solar powered road studs and solar powered lamp posts. A grandfather’s clock will be placed in one of the mini gardens. The design incorporates a bioretention
drainage system. Also included in the development is the conversion of the space underneath the
overpass abutting the TiongSan Building into a ramp for Persons With Disabilities. Engr. Dominador
Matbagan, representative of the CEO clarified during the regular session of the Baguio City Council last October 24 that the development does not intend to permanently close Carantes St. to vehicles, contrary to the claim of a concerned citizen who had earlier called the attention of the city council.

Matbagan said the two streets will not be fully pedestrianized since they are used as service roads leading
to some major roads in the Central Business District. Furthermore, he assured the city council that a window period will be given to business owners along Carantes St. for the loading and unloading of their merchandise. The said project is also considered as a traffic calming measure. Traffic calming is the use of physical design and other measures to deliberately slow down the speed of vehicles in order to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians.

Carantes St. is a city road with a width of 8 meters. After the development, the roadway will be reduced to 3-3.5 meters. It was previously used as a jeepney terminal. Matbagan said that the concrete pavement
therein is already dilapidated and that its drainage canal emits foul odor, thus the need to rehabilitate it.
The city council urged the CEO to conduct a study on the impact of the project to the flow of traffic in the vicinity to ensure that it will not contribute to traffic congestion.

Sangguniang Panlunsod/Jordan G.Habbiling