Brace for the rerouting of traffic with the closure of a section of Lacson Street in Bacolod City for the MassKara Festival from October 16 to 22.
PMaj. Junji Liba, Bacolod Traffic Authority Office head, said the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation (BYF) requested the closure, which will need the approval of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
North Capitol Road will also be fully closed from October 16 to 22, he added.
Six corporate stages and one main stage, as well as food and corporate kiosks, will be set up along the Lacson Tourism Strip for the festival, Jecko Redil, BYF treasurer and director, said.
Liba said the BYF is asking that the section of Lacson Street at Bangga Ramos be fully closed from October 16 to 22.
That means traffic from south and north of the city passing through that section of Lacson Street will have to be rerouted to side streets for seven days, he said.
Lacson Street from the South Capitol Road to Bangga Ramos at BS Aquino Drive will also be closed from 3 p.m. to 5 a.m. from October 19 to 22, Liba added.
The road closure will take effect amid road repairs at alternate routes that are expected to exacerbate traffic woes.
The Bacolod Yuhum Foundation has also requested the closure of roads for the MassKara Street dancing competition that will start at the SM City going to the Paglaum Sports Complex, Liba said.
In the past the street dancing started from Locsin-Rizal streets, he said.
Starting the street dance from SM City will affect 10 modern and seven traditional jeepney routes that will have to be provided with an alternative plan, Liba added.
Redil said the street dancing will start at SM City because it is a major sponsor of the festival. They are requesting that they have an area that will be part of the MassKara, he said.
Liba said there have been almost weekly changes from the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation so he does not have a final traffic plan yet.
That is because the BYF still has to seek SP approval for its planned road closures so we cannot finalize the traffic plan yet, he said.
The BTAO final traffic plan will depend on what the SP finally approves, Liba said.
Von Maungca, BYF marketing, promotions and interagency concerns head, said they will release information on the MassKara traffic plan once it is approved by the SP.
Katherine Matiling, BYF president, said this year they have a sponsorship team to ensure that they have enough funds for the festival.
They are making sure that memorandums of agreement are signed with all sponsors to ensure that they meet their target, Matiling said.*