Motorists should familiarize themselves with Bacolod City’s streets in advance, as Lacson Street will be closed for a week starting on October 16 for the MassKara Festival, which is expected to cause traffic problems.
The Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) said that the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation (BYF), which organizes the festival, has requested the closure of the section of Lacson Street from the South Capitol Road (along Development Bank of the Philippines) up to BS Aquino Drive, or commonly known as Bangga Ramos starting October 16 to give way for the festival.
The North Capitol Road will also be closed to traffic. BTAO said for the duration of the festivities, the Lacson Street will be closed from 3 p.m. to 5 a.m. from October 19 to 22.
The closure will affect traffic from south and north of the city passing through that section of Lacson Street. This will impact both traditional and modernized jeepneys with Bata-Libertad and Mandalagan-Libertad routes.
Aside from Lacson, road going to SM City will also be closed during the street dancing competition on October 22 as requested by the BYF. The SM grounds will serve as the starting point of the street dancing. The arena competion will meanwhile takes place at the Pagla-um Sports Complex.
With this year’s changes in the street dancing route, the BTAO is expected to redesign the traffic plan as nearly a dozen of routes passing through SM City wil be heavily impacted during the festival’s highlight.
The BTAO said that it is still waiting for the Sangguniang Panlungsod to approve the BYF’s request for road closures, so it cannot finalize the traffic plan yet.
