Maevel Hyacinth V.

Elevazo Activity 2

In the previous activity I have pointed out 5 flaws that I have seen and observed in our community. Despite having
these flaws, it still didn’t take away the beauty of my hometown and I firmly believe that the listed examples can be fixed if
authorities would focus on the matter more. In this activity I will be presenting 3 examples of roadway problems observed in my
community that should be prioritized by the government.

Roadways are a part of the road used mainly by vehicles, we can say that it is the biggest part of the road seen by the
naked eye. Essentially, roadways are kept the most updated in terms of safety as it is used for transportation. It is constantly
improved to protect vehicles from causing or getting into an accident. In comparison to urban areas, rural roadways are less
advanced. Specifically in our community, we have no stop lights to manage the traffic, there are limited streetlights, and in some
parts there are potholes and cracks. These are some examples of roadway problems that the Philippines is facing in every
community and ours is not an exception. Although having no stop lights is a major hazard, considering that our municipality is a
small one and the main road or highway is separated from the Poblacion where everyone resides, I have excluded this problem.

Potholes
A pothole is a section of a road’s surface where the top layer, usually asphalt, has developed cracks and subsequently
broken away from the roadbed under the repetitive pressure of passing traffic, creating a hole with rough vertical edges (Golos,
2022). Potholes in our community are often seen inside the Poblacion, vehicles that frequent the streets of Poblacion are
motorcycles, tricycles, and bicycles. In my observation, these potholes are dangerous considering that the vehicles mentioned
are much smaller compared to cars or trucks and can easily be affected by potholes. Drivers in the area also don’t wear helmets
which makes it more dangerous for them to run over potholes. If not repaired, potholes may cause serious injuries and accidents
to passers. One solution I would like to suggest is patching, it is the common method of repairing and maintaining potholes. This
can be done DIY or professionally, cold mix asphalt material can be used when patching small holes and can be done at home.
Considering that this is a public transport road, hot mix asphalt or HMA which is used professionally is advised as it is more
effective compared to cold mix asphalt.

Cracked Pavement
Cracked pavements are the early signs of potholes and as mentioned above, it is the result of stress from repetitive
loading of traffic but it can also be caused by changes in temperature that causes roads to deteriorate overtime. Cracks on the
pavement are often overlooked in our community as it poses lesser threat than potholes, however, at night these cracks can still
be dangerous to pedestrians as well as riders. If not seen, people may trip on cracks and cyclists may get into accidents in
relation to what was mentioned in the previous paragraph. Cracks that are caught on earlier are not much of a hassle since they
are easier to fill, but cracks that have been stressed on so much need to be well repaired. Roads with so much damage from
cracks need to be paved, this is a process of covering roads with concrete to make it more suitable for passers. The most
common material for road paving is asphalt mixture. Similarly to repairing potholes, asphalt mixture is widely used to repair roads
by paving them which acts like a secondary road and thus “updating” the old pavement and constructing a new one on top.
Limited Street Lights
Street lights are used to illuminate the road. In some places it is a big help for authorities to lower crime as well
illuminated areas can easily be seen in CCTV cameras. But in this paper I will focus on its importance on the safety of travelers
and how it can help to reduce road accidents happening especially at night. In our community, there are certain parts of our
roads that don't have enough illumination, this is due to old and unrepaired street lights or it just doesn’t have one. This is
burdensome to travelers, pedestrians, and even cyclists because it’s hard to see other people on the street or as mentioned,
cracks and potholes on the road. Reports of accidents in our municipality are mainly caused by the lack of illumination in our
roads, especially in the highway where cars pass at night. As observed in other municipalities, well lit roads are easier to travel
with and based on my experience I am more comfortable traveling at night when there is enough light for me to see the road
clearly. As a citizen, I know that there are other things that our municipality would like to prioritize, hence, my suggestion is to
replace old street light bulbs with new ones that are brighter and much more reliable and then start on planning to build new
street lights on areas that don’t have one. The planned street lights should be big enough to accommodate every vehicle
passing.