Whenever traffic becomes unbearable in Baguio City, the blame-game begins. And tourists are always the usual suspects. They are easy targets for residents and a convenient excuse for those in power.
But should tourists shoulder the blame for Baguio's traffic woes? Do they deserve the bashing and the finger-pointing?
It's important that we look into what the data says about the vehicles coming and going on Baguio's streets. Here are the numbers:
1. According to the city, Baguio's existing roads can only accommodate 10,000 to a maximum of 15,000 vehicles at any given time.
2. According to a survey in 2024 by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., as many as 53,000 to 60,000 Baguio vehicles are on city streets at any given time. Add to this about 25,000 vehicles by tourists. That's a total of about 85,000 vehicles on city streets that can only accommodate a maximum of 15,000 vehicles.
Looking at these numbers, would you still say that tourists are to blame for Baguio's traffic problems?
I was listening to a podcast the other day. The guest for that episode is an architect based in Japan. He's originally from Baguio City and came home for a few days on the second week of December. He and the podcast host talked a little bit about the traffic problems of Baguio City.
The guest said something that I believe is very true. Here's what he said: "𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗼 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗴-𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗴𝗮 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮. 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗶 𝗻𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗻𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗴-𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘁. 𝗔𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀. 𝗔𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗼 𝗻𝗴𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗻, 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗹 𝗻𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆-𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗴-𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮."
There are kernels of truth to what he said. Things that are worth thinking about this lazy Sunday afternoon. Maybe the city should dial back its obsession with attracting more and more tourists. Preno konti.
#baguio #baguiocity #baguiotraffic #traffic #socialmedia
