CHALK ART NO MORE Closing Baguio City鈥檚 main street, Session Road, to vehicles on Sundays gives artists and children the freedom to engage in chalk art while visitors and locals stroll around, as shown in this October 2022 photo. This project will be suspended starting March 23 to allow a further study in relation to the city鈥檚 traffic problem. 鈥擭eil Clark Ongchanco
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines 鈥� Persistent traffic congestion has, for now, put a halt to Baguio鈥檚 Sunday pedestrianization experiment, which transforms downtown Session Road into a vibrant walking park featuring cosplayers, chalk art and occasional food and craft bazaars.
On Monday, the city council urged Mayor Benjamin Magalong to put on hold, allow a further study and to await a possible ordinance that would establish rules for closing the summer capital鈥檚 busy main street on Sundays.
Dubbed 鈥淪unday Session,鈥� the project began in 2019 when Magalong first took office, partly fulfilling the environmental goals of a pedestrianization movement started in 2008 by the late city architect Joseph Alabanza.
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The initiative aimed to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and encourage motorists to take public transportation, thereby decreasing the number of vehicles on the streets.
Shortly after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic struck, Sunday Session was redesigned to provide micro and small businesses with a venue to recover from the economic downturn caused by lockdowns and quarantines.
From 2022 until last year, Sunday Session become a weekend attraction for tourists.
However, in recent weeks, councilors have been discussing the full impact of the weekend closures of Session Road on the central business district and the university belt, where traffic slows down during peak hours on work and school days.
Daily volume
At least 19,000 vehicles travel up and down this historic road daily鈥攔oughly 800 per hour鈥攁ccording to John Vincent Ni帽alga, a traffic analyst from the City Engineering Office鈥檚 Traffic and Transportation Management Division.
He presented a traffic impact assessment of the Session Road closures during the council鈥檚 Feb. 24 session.
No ordinance currently governs Sunday Session, which has been implemented through executive orders periodically issued by Magalong.