The traffic from Baguio City to La Trinidad is bad especially during rush hours. It will only get worse in the coming years. As population grows, so does the number of cars on the streets. And the road isn't exactly expanding parallel to the growth of people and cars.
I've been reading some articles on how progressive cities from around the world ease traffic. These include data and statistics from research studies.
One of the most effective strategies that often comes up is "𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀". People tend to walk more when there's a good sidewalk they can use. A sidewalk that doesn't pose any danger to them. A sidewalk that doesn't inconvenience them in any way.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸. They constantly promote a culture of walking. They highlight the benefits of walking: you get exercise, you save money, you cut your carbon footprint, you don't contribute to pollution, etc. They even put up nice little benches where people can sit and rest if they get tired from their walks.
With that said, Baguio City and La Trinidad can follow the same blueprint. Promote a culture of walking. And build walkable and safe sidewalks.
We can already see the great effects of the sidewalk on the side of BSU from Km. 5 to Km. 6. It encourages people to walk. Unfortunately, this section is the only section with proper sidewalks. From Km. 5 all the way to Baguio City, there's no proper sidewalk. What's worse is that the little and narrow walkways are often blocked by parked cars and trucks. You have to walk on the highway itself to avoid them. It's dangerous.
Imagine if there's a good sidewalk traversing all the way from Baguio City to La Trinidad. People will walk more. People will say it's too far. No, it's not. People say that because they are too used to taking a jeep or taxi or a private car.
