Philippine National Infrastructure and Urban Planning

[bagel]

Sorry. I was mistaken. I thought I had route maps but apparently, what I have is just a Powerpoint presentation that has a slide that shows a map of Mindanao and a representation of the route, not the actual route maps. But it shows major stops along the Mindanao Railway-- the longterm plan.

[richard fischer]

im sorry dear skylinepigeon
but praying will not do, face the facts. it´s a matter of clean business and solid profits. that´s all a company is interested in : making money. they will build a railway in the antartics, if the profits are higher than the investment. it´s called turn around. but what am i telling you, you know very well.....so let´s just see what happens. praying, by the way, is good for everything, everyone, so let´s keep up our trust in god anyhow for the health&wealth of the peoples of the world.

[richard fischer]

ok boybaha,
where can i see that representation of the route ? on what and where longterm plan ? would be greatful for a link. salamat !

[richard fischer]

look what i found :
http://www.mindanews.com/2004/03/30nws-railway.html
and
http://www.bayanihan.org/html/public...Tourism&page=8

hopefully you guys can open these pages. i´m not sure i did it correctly. i am not so keen on computers.....

[bagel]

OK. Here is a screencap of the PowerPoint slide I spoke about. This presentation was given to a group of investors at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao in October, 1999.

This is the "finished product" after a long range plan. From what I recall, that plan called for the construction of the eastern portion of the railway as its first stage, linking Butuan to Davao. From there, the MRS goes westward. I believe the Butuan to Marawi link was next. These plans were the Erap-era Flagship Projects plan.



No net links to government sites as I believe my harddrive is the only place these exist these days. I used to do the PP presentations for my boss at the time and since the ousting of Estrada, that commission has fallen out of favor and was dismantled.

PS. I don't think I'm doing anything bad by posting these old presentations here because they weren't top secret (and in fact were part of the PR role of the Presidential Committee on Flagship Projects) and since that office no longer exists, it's ok to do this. I only have their Powerpoint presentations anyway. Hmm. And the projects are obsolete... do you remember the garbage landfill project for San Mateo, Rizal? Ahehe.

[stephencua]

WOW!!! hopefully no hitches will occur in the construction of that project.. its about time that vital infrastructure projects would also be done in mindanao.. luzon has the highest concentration of the governments projects kasi.. especially the NCR region..

[richard fischer]

thanks boybaha,
makes sence, that railway layout. all that´s missing now is a link from cotabato to davao (direct connnex). but this will takes another 20 years and a lot of loans to get done before they think of further expansion plans.

[renell]

Alright. Manila needs a facelift, and it's slowly but surely going through the process. Anyone got your own plans for Bay City, Pasig River, Ortigas, BGC? It can be drawings and notes, or anything

[bustero]

sounds nice, will think. don't have drawings just dreams.

[renell]

be nice if those dreams can talk eh? i'm trying to put down something from brain to MS word, or to paint


Speaking of paint, part one of my CCP redevelopment plans. CCP needs to be for the public, wide roads for the cars, and monorail for the commuters and the tourists. CCP also needs to be use residentially, so along with bus routes, say hi to Manila's first monorail line (unless SM's plans to build a monorail from MoA to Manila's main public transport lines don't come through)

[pau_p1]

hmmm... if we had the funds to perform all the possible redevelopment plans... well, I think the first project would be the cleaning of the Pasig River and all the esteros in the Metro.. this includes clearing of legal and illegal settlers at least 10 meters from the river/estero..

of course the Northrail is ongoing now... I think my next idea would be setting up an organized public transport system, setup up bus routes that would lessen traffic use of EDSA... also, set up a memorandum to private buses to clean up or replace old buses with newer ones specifically with good airconditioning.

next is maybe build a freeway within the metro... the metro is made up of avenues (EDSA, C5, Quezon, Commonwealth)that clog up on intersections... we need a real highway with proper exits... well I hope in the new developing cities would have this....

next is to ban high polluting vehicles from our roads, setup a maximum car life on our roads... I think 10-15year old cars should no longer be allowed to be registered. Halt distribution of Bus and Jeepney franchise.. remove franchise of high polluting and dilapidated PUVs... Set high standards to allow any vehicle to run on our streets.. And improve the mass transport system..

[bustero]

Maybe an iconic building or statue, some sort of landmark. ONe problem with Manila is there's no face internationally.

One idea I had was a Manila sign similar to Hollywood or Miami , near the airport so visible from planes landing immediately but they would be series of towers at least 200 meters high. So it would be a series of buildings sticking out. No other tall building should be allowed near it.

[ryanr]

I agree with both Pau and bustero. MM really needs some proper masterplanning (is that a word?). Theoretically and according to my Urban Geography studies, all major arteries must lead to the CBD (in our case Makati). In addition, there should be a expressway ring road around the city, with the CBD in the center. However with MM, this is not the case. Instead, EDSA which is supposedly our ringroad is the only major access to Makati and Ortigas, giving it lots of pressure during rush hour. Thats why it gets so clogged up because everybody uses it! Fortunately, C-5 has improved over the years as an alternative route, but it is still not enough. There should be a proper expressway system around the city. And skyway is not enough...should be more extensive.
I realise the most major arteries go to Binondo and Quiapo which makes sense since it was our CBD in the past. But things are changing and new planning that will lead to Makati, Ortigas and BGC is needed.
Next, i like how the adminstration is building MRT lines...but they should be given more priority to get rid of all the delays.
Lastly, bustero is right...MM needs a landmark to give Metro Manila an image when it is mentioned. This way, more tourists and investors will identify MM as a place to go.

[pau_p1]

for the iconic landmark.. I think that the Rizal Monument can be this but... the tourism department should build it up to symbolize the country.... but of course a modern structure wouldnt' harm to be Manila's symbol...

[bagel]

I would probably redevelop the area immediately surrounding the Rizal Park area, particularly points immediatly south of it, along Kalaw. This includes the restoration of the Luneta Hotel for adaptive re-use and the reshaping of the area into an art-deco haven that compliments that two new skyscrapers with retro-looking lowrise. Kind of make it a Malate extended to the north.

I would also continue what Lito Atienza is doing with the Binondo/Sta. Cruz areas. Probably improve access to the place by reviving river travel. Would try to entice more corporations to resettle the area by providing tax incentives. Also, making Escolta an arts district ala New York's Soho that celebrates the architecture.

In the process, there would be a celebration of Manila's art deco heritage.

[renell]

Alright, Mike has his Art Deco plan going on, I have my....CCPCP (CCP Complex Plan)

My CCP Redevelopment Plan includes
-New medium-rise, high-density cost-effective apartments parallel to Westin Philippine Plaza and the Manila Film Center, facing Manila Bay
-A Ferry terminal for Manila's new ferry transport system (similar to Sydney's), going to either south in the PEA land or north into Intramuros-Fort Bonifacio
-Construction of a effective transport system for tourists and inhabitants of the CCP complex, either a on-grade tram or monorail. This transport system can be extended southwards into Bay City
-Establishment of office space along the Buendia extension on the CCP complex.
-Sufficient underground and multi-level parking for the cultural buildings (Folk Arts, CCP, PICC, Manila Film Center)
-Sufficient park space and recreational facilities for citizens of Metro Manila, and tourists.

[JudeD]

Hey, I'm all for Mike's Art Deco plan! If one looks hard enough, Manila has a lot of Art Deco treasures. If there's some way to tie all these structures together, it'll provide a distinct architectural identity to the city.

One other thing that's long been neglected. A proper, comprehensive, and heritage-aware reconstruction and redevelopment of Intramuros.

[renell]

Originally Posted by GreyX

all major arteries must lead to the CBD (in our case Makati). In addition, there should be a expressway ring road around the city, with the CBD in the center. However with MM, this is not the case.

Well... in Makati's case, yes that is not what's happening. Yet if you look at the old CBD of Manila, Binondo-Quiapo-Escolta, that area, I think you will see that "All roads lead to Manila". There's SLEX (Osmena Highway), Shaw Boulevard, Aurora Boulevard, E Rodriguez, Quezon Ave.. then there's this idea of a big semi-ring road (EDSA) then inside it lies a smaller semi-ring road (Pres. Quirino-Nagtahan-AH Lacson-Tayuman, looking at a map here). From paper it looks like it's well planned isn't it? I see it as a lack of keeping up with population, and so they find the quick fix is just building near the center, then to the area outside of the place near the center. Perhaps too much sprawl?

[pau_p1]

I also remembered that in my plan... there should be proper signage on most parts of the metro... make the whole metro tourist friendly... also if possible setup a site containing proper road and establishment map... just like singapore have at www.streetdirectory.com.sg

[Solblanc]

hmm... I would develop C-6 as a ring expressway with proper exits, as well as complete the skyway, so that we will not have any more congestion from provincial buses and the like.

I'd also develop the bay area. I'll move the container port completely to subic. The only boats that I want to see in Manila bay are cruises, ferries, and yachts. The entire bay area should have all sorts of medium to high rise structures, and architects should be given creative license, like in Lisbon or Shanghai. The entire bay area should also be at least 20% parks.

Old Manila (especially intramuros) should be given a facelift and preserved. Revive the old spanish and american architecture, in conjunction with Mike's art-deco project. Its a very good one.

The entirety of the MRT-3 and LRT-1 should be refurbished. Assuming, of course, that money is no object, I'd send LRT-1 underground, and let the light shine in. That isn't a problem on the EDSA MRT, but wider cars would be nice, but I'd also like each station to be designed in a way that it pleases the eye.

Our public transport in Manila is ridiculously chaotic. I suggest that all public transport be bought by the government, including the Jeepneys and FXs, but not including taxis and tricycles. That way, not only will the government (or MMDA) have direct control over the flow of buses and jeepneys, fares can be consolidated into one card, similar to europe. One would only have to pay once to use the entire system for an hour or two.

Also, we might see some jeepneys and buses actually follow the rules

The urinals just have to go. I'd replace them with public toilets similar to london, where the toilet just blends into the surroundings. Use is free if you're a commuter. Also, it would enable girls to use the bathroom, too.