Immediate Off Street Parking is One Reason Traffic is So Bad in the Philippines

Traffic isn't awful in the Philippines solely because people drive with no regard for safety or laws. Traffic is also bad because of lack of planning on the part of the DPWH who when building the roads decides to pave right around electrical poles and the engineers and architects who construct buildings which have immediate off street parking rather than a separate parking lot away from the street. I am talking about this:

That is a brand new building constructed at a very busy intersection. The architects who designed this building took no consideration of the heavy traffic in the area and decided parking right off the street was a good idea. Anyone who parks here is going to have to back into a traffic jam and will hold up traffic themselves. The risk for accidents in this kind of set-up is very high. That is why there are so many men you have to pay P5 for backing you up.

Some of those who back up cars are even children who should be in school.

Imagine an entire black market economy of these workers who back up cars because of bad planning. They might not make much but at least they don't have to pay taxes on it. Many cars that park in these kind of spaces end up obstructing traffic because part of the vehicle juts into the road.

Those are not cherry-picked pictures. That is a standard day in the Philippines. Cars, trucks, vans, and other vehicles with their tail ends hanging into the street causing obstructions. But you know what? That's actually not their fault because the most of these spots are not large enough for a car or truck to fit!

Does not fit!

I notice there is also a penchant for backing into a parking spot rather then pulling right in headfirst. This happens even in safe off street parking spots like at Jolibee. Sometimes drivers decide to back into immediate off street parking spots which also causes a bit of a traffic jam. Then you have these thoughtless idiots:

In the Philippines any space automatically becomes a parking space as long as you turn on the emergency flashers. Who cares if you are blocking parked cars or impeding the flow of traffic? Tricycles also block parking spots. Just look at all these tricycle lined up in a row blocking the parking spaces. Cars cannot get in or out without a big commotion.

Do you want to see just how stupid and dangerous immediate off street parking is in action? Watch as this SUV backs across three lanes of traffic.

Pretty stupid and needlessly dangerous. Now let's compare a supermarket parking lot in the Philippines with one in the USA.

Robinson's Supermarket parking lot

Kroger parking lot

See the difference? To be fair the Robinson's Supermarket does have an underground garage. That is a good thing. They should have left the parking entirely in the garage and forgone the immediate off street parking which is simply stupid and dangerous.