How bad can it go when motorists just make the city streets their personal private parking spaces?

Too bad, apart from exposing the car to vandals, it can get nasty when you find a clamp on its wheels.

This as the City Government authorities revealed an ongoing purchase request for dozens of car tire clamps it processes while the city council cooks up a clamping ordinance.

City Administrator Leonides Borja bared this in an apparent move to solve the problem of illegal parking, especially along narrow city streets especially now that the roads are paved.

At the joint meeting of city councils March 30, Borja shared the solution amidst motorists exasperation of the illegal parking as well as undisciplined drivers who casually dismiss city traffic officers when handed with citation tickets.

A city citation ticket mandates the offending traffic violator to settle the violation at the city traffic.

Traffic authorities said they could not yet hand in the more compelling temporary operators permit (TOP) pending its release from the local Land Transportation Office.

Let us just see how motorists would react if they find wheel clamps on their illegally parked vehicles, a traffic enforcer said, eager to regain the respect enforcers must command.

City punong barangays and a countless other commuters bearing the brunt of crawling traffic in this unusually hot summer, aired complaints over the unabated illegal parking which slows down traffic.

“Indeed, we have newly paved roads which must get traffic moving better, but the parking is so bad traffic crawls,” notes Punong Barangay Nicanor Besas, at the recent joint councils meeting in the city.

Members of the City Peace and Order Council shared Besas’ observation and names the gridlocks and bottle necks along Pamaong Street where hardware stores load and unload along the road, Remolador corner Maria Clara where students and residents park along the streets.

Remolador corner Putong which is the main access to the pier after a reroute, CPG Avenue corner Bernardino Inting where both sides parking is noted and Butalid Street where a school is also converging vehicles.

“We have asked city traffic enforcers to issue citation tickets, city officials said, but motorists from outside Tagbilaran simply disregard the tickets knowing the city cannot go after them who have no business interests here.

Earlier, authorities asked city barangay tanods to act on the matter.

But Poblacion 1 Punong Barangay Arlene Karaan does not believe it would help.

“What is the assurance that drivers would believe in tanods when they openly disregard traffic officers?” she asked.

Over this, the city council hopes that by the clamping ordinance, order in the city streets could be restored.(rac/PIA-7/Bohol)