the impacts of mrt-3 on the geography of edsa edsa + mrt-3 travelogue

Summer 2012 Alternative OCLA The Impacts of MRT-3 on the Geography of EDSA EDSA + MRT-3 Travelogue Jona Nichole Lovino 2008 42339 Geog 1 X4 Pamela Crosby

history epifanio de los santos avenue

edsa
The Epifanio de los Santos Avenue commonly known as EDSA, is a 23.8-kilometer stretch connecting the cities of Caloocan, Quezon, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, Makati, Taguig, Paraaque and Pasay. EDSA has been witness to several important events in the history of the Philippines. Two revolutions occurred along the famous road, which ousted two Filipino presidents: Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada. Then called North-South Circumferential Road, EDSAs construction led by Engineers Florencio Moreno and Osmundo Monsode began in the 1930s under the presidency of Manuel L. Quezon. The road began at what is known today as the North Luzon Expressway and ended at todays South Luzon Expressway. By the 1940s the road was finished, and, following the independence of the Philippines in 1946, the avenue was renamed after the birth date of Jos Rizal, Avenida 19 de Junio. After several disputes as to what the avenue should be named, on April 7, 1959, with the suggestion of Rizal residents and Filipino scholars and historians, the avenue then named Highway 54, was renamed into Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, after the Rizaleo, historian, jurist, and scholar Epifanio de los Santos. To keep up with the rapid urbanization during the 50s and 60s, industrial centers developed along the road, which eventually lead to the construction of other roads connecting to the avenue, like Ayala Avenue in Makati City. Interchanges were also constructed to lessen the congestion along the avenue, such as the Balintawak and Magallanes Interchanges. As years passed, the avenue was further extended as it is today, beginning at Caloocan City and ending in SM Mall of Asia. The avenue forms majority of the Circumferential Road 4 System, which forms a semicircle around Manila. Consisting mostly 10-lanes, 5 per direction, EDSA today is accessed by an average of 2.34 million vehicles per day. And to manage the flow of traffic along this avenue, is the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

mrt-3
As of today EDSA is used by approximately 2.8 million commuters and with the increasing population, the corresponding pedestrian and vehicular traffic has been a dilemma. The proposed solution of the Department of Transportation & Communication is todays Metro Rail Transit 3 or the MRT-3. Designed to carry an excess of 23,000 passengers per hour, per direction (expandable to 48,000 passengers per hour, per direction) the near P17 billion project was awarded to Metro Rail Transit Corporation. MRTCs contract with DOTC is a Build-Operate-Transfer contract where the DOTC would hold the franchise and run all administrative functions, such as operation and collection of fares; while, MRTC would build the system and obtain the spare parts for the trains in exchange for monthly fees by the DOTC. Built along EDSA, the 16.9-kilometer modern rail system stretches from the North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. Two years after construction, which started on September 16, 1997, operation from North Avenue and Buendia began in December 15, 1999, while the remaining stations began operation in July 20, 2000. The MRT-3 has 13 stations and is open from 5:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. It takes approximately 2 minutes to get from one station to the other and per stop is a 15-25 seconds time frame for the passengers to enter or exit.

history manila railway transit 3

North Avenue

map of economic activities

Quezon Avenue GMA-Kamuning

Araneta Center - Cubao

Santolan - Annapolis

Ortigas Shaw Boulevard Boni Guadalupe Buendia

Ayala Taft Magallanes

LEGEND
General Merchandise Media (Printing, etc) Shopping center Market Luxury stores Restaurant

MRT 3 LRT Line 1

Jeepney FX terminal Bus terminal Hotel Condominium

LRT Line 2 PNR

Hospital

2 KM
*Scale and drawing based from Goole Maps image.

Hardware Vehicles

Commercial offices BPOs Banks

1-3 establishments

A wide variety of activites line EDSA. These include:

shopping centers, markets, fast foods and restaurants, general merchandise stores, repair shops, hardware shops, automobile (including luxury vehicles) centers, jeepney, fx, and bus terminals, government offices, hospitals, commercial offices, BPOs, banks, hotels, condominiums
Most are secondary and tertiary activities.

mrt-3 stations + landscape

Buendia Class B Cubao The Buendia station is within proximity of different upper class residential area and multinational companies. And because the Central Business District of Makati and Taguig is accessible through this area it can be compared to the Shaw Boulevard station.

Magallanes Class B The Magallanes station is within proximity of many multinational companies. It is the high class version of the Kamuning station.

Class C Quezon Avenue Class B The Quezon Avenue station is in range of many educational and government establishments. Jeepneys also frequent the area. Most of the establishments surrounding the Cubao station are bus terminals and shops offering cheap alternatives to goods and services. Jeepneys also frequent the area. Ortigas

Boni Avenue Class B Class B The Ortigas station is within range of the Central Business District of Pasig. The Boni station is surrounded with residential establishments.

North Avenue

Kamuning

Santolan Class B

Shaw Boulevard

Guadalupe Class C

Ayala

Taft

Class B The North Avenue station is a center for commercial activity with premier malls and other commercial establishments surrounding the vicinity. FX terminals are also within the area.

Class B The Kamuning station is surrounded by bus terminals and commercial establishments; the GMA Network building being the most prominent. It is also lined with shops offering various cheap products and Q Mart.

The Santolan station is a mix of two seemingly unlikely activities with government establishments and high class commercial shops. It is also within proximity of a famous shopping center and an upper class residential area.

Class B The Shaw station is comparable to the North Avenue station. It is filled with commericial establishments and hotels. It is also within proximity of the Central Business District of Pasig.

The Guadalupe station is a low class version of the Santolan station. Within its vicinity are government establishments and commercial establishments.

Class A The Ayala station is comparable to the Ortigas station. It is within range of the Central Business District of Makati.

Class C The Taft station is like the Cubao station. It is within range of shopping centers, bus terminals, and hardware stores. Jeepneys also frequent the area.

Flow of people in the MRT

South Bound 3:30 PM

North Avenue Station

Trinoma // LRT 1 CaMaNaVa, Bulacan, Pampanga, Quezon City

Most establishments lining

the MRT seem to be newly constructed. Rather than building the MRT around them, the establishments built around it were meant to take advantage of the high volume of passengers; which is why, a common characteristic of MRT stations is that they are directly connected to shopping centers. With the volume of passengers, not only do these establishments reap in

explain why these areas have high volumes of commuters.

Quezon Avenue Station

Centris Station Fairview, Novaliches, Commonwealth Ave, some parts of Bulacan

North Ave, Taft, and the Cubao station are connected to either of the 2 LRT lines. Both ends also cater to commuters from provinces in the north and south, where many people choose to live because of low cost housing. Traffic is heaviest near the ends of the MRT line.

Kamuning Station
Pag-ibig Fund & GMA Network Quezon City, Tomas Morato

Cubao Station
Farmers Market // LRT 2 Marikina

Santolan Station
Camp Crame & Camp Aguinaldo Greenhills, San Juan

SM Megmall Antipolo, Pasig CBD, Greenhills, San Juan

Ortigas Station

North Ave, Quezon Ave, Kamuning, and the Cubao station cater to the administrative district of Quezon City and the busy streets of Cubao.

Shaw Boulevard Station

Shangri-la Mall Pasig CBD, Pasig Residential, Rizal

located near an intersection

ingoing outgoing

a huge sum, but I also think passengers satisfaction levels are stabilized by the option given to them to relax after a long and jam-packed trip. After all, malls are pseudoplaces.

Boni Avenue Station

SM Light Residences Mandaluyong

The Santolan, Ortigas, Shaw, and Boni stations cater to the Central Business District of Pasig. These areas are also located in the middle of the MRT line,

UNLI-FOODS Incorporated // Pasig River Ferry Mandaluyong

Guadalupe Station Buendia Station

Makati, Taguig CBD SM Makati Department Store Makati, Taguig CBD

Most MRT stations are also situated near nodes, specifically intersections, which were probably built before the MRT. Building the MRT near the intersections gives people access to either sides of the cities along EDSA. This may *As observed on May 14, 2012 in trains designated for women.
The location may have influenced observations. This does not aim to reflect any trend.

which makes it logical for companies to put up residential establishments around the area.

Ayala Station

Alphaland Southgate Mall Chino Roces Avenue, Bicutan, Alabang, Muntinlupa

Magallanes Station

The last stations: Guadalupe, Buendia, Ayala, Magallanes, and Taft cater to the Central Business District of Makati and Taguig.

Taft Avenue Station

Metropoint Mall // LRT 2 MOA Complex, Cavite, Batangas North Bound 5:00 PM

The standard layout of stations consists of a concourse level, where restrooms and ticket booths are situated and are in most cases situated above the platform. The platform level is connected to the concourse via stairs, escalators, and elevators.

and Ayala, which are underground. These are of course to accomodate the traffic, especially because as mentioned earlier, the stations are located near intersections. For example, since there is not much commercial activity along Boni, it is expected not to be as congested as other parts of EDSA, so it

Stations may have island platforms or platforms located in between the tracks. This is the type found in Shaw, Boni, Buendia, and Taft. Another type are side platforms, which are those whose tracks are found between the platforms and are the ones found in North Avenue, Quezon Avenue, Cubao, Santolan, Ortigas, Guadalupe, Ayala, and Magallanes. It is easier to navigate through island platforms as the walkways are located in the center.

was not elevated. Or, it may be seen as the reason for the congestion.

Elderly, disabled, women, and children may also opt to ride at the front of the train as there is a specific waiting area for them in the platform.

The busiest stations also have larger concourse areas, like Shaw, Taft, and Ayala and they tend to look dirtier especially from the entrance outside the station.

Most MRT stations are elevated, the exceptions are Boni, Ayala, and Taft, which are at ground level, and Buendia

has been recently repainted and looks new. More funds from the government enabled them to do so. When I saw this station, I thought it was brightly colored because it wanted to fit into its immediate surroundings which were high class villages.

Buendia Station

Ayala Station

is also brightly colored like the Buendia station. Since both stations are located underground, the management probably thought it was best to paint the walls to make the place look brighter.

is the most depressing looking in my opinion. Although the concourse area is very large, it is not enough to accomodate the huge volume of people. The line has to fold twice over a huge distance and the mall it is also connected to is direlict and dirty. This has to be because of the volume of people going through this station. This station is also connected to the LRT-2 line.

Taft Station

North Avenue

new map manila railway transit 3

My proposed map will not only increase the possible income of the MRT-3, it also aims to decongest the areas where high volume of passengers was observed. It is inferred that these people pass by these areas because these are access points to the cities EDSA crosses. Although it probably impossible to extend the Taft Avenue to the SM Mall of Asia as it is already a reclaimed area and would jeopardize the safety of people, the extention would be beneficial. SM will be able to accomodate the concourse area, thereby decreasing the traffic in the Taft area. When this is done, it will also be best to make use of the blank advertisment boards. Information about the MRT or tourism advertisments could be placed to give color to the station.

to Commonwealth Quezon Avenue

GMA-Kamuning

Araneta Center - Cubao

Santolan - Annapolis Ortigas to Pasig, Anitpolo Shaw Boulevard Boni

Guadalupe Buendia

Ayala to Taguig to MOA Complex Taft Magallanes

LEGEND
MRT 3 *Drawing based from the image on the MRT card. Scale based on the distance between stations found on dotcmrt3.weebly.com LRT Line 1 Proposed MRT 3 extension LRT Line 2

references + sources
Buendia station. Retrieved May 20, 2012 from http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab359/ samuelbelibeth/DSC07181.jpg Ayala station. Retrieved May 20, 2012 from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/ thumb/8/81/MRT_Ayala_2011.jpg/300px-MRT_Ayala_2011.jpg Taft Avenue station. Retrieved May 20, 2012 from https://is1.4sqi.net/derived_ pix/7EyldqSsgRFUOPpEKyqUW6oVezH-xnO713wykMtUf-U_300x300.jpg ___. nd. Retrieved May 10, 2012 from dotcmrt3.weebly.com ___. nd. Retrieved May 10, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRT ___. nd. Retrieved May 18, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsa