The project proposal entitled the “PASIGan: Guadalupe Riverfront Development with a Grand Integrated Ferry Terminal” envisions to develop a city’s urban edge that will attract a lot of public interest as it will promote a sense of identity to the place as well as advocate for social, economic and tourism engagement and utilization of the water transportation of the Pasig River Ferry System as a convenient mode of transportation to ease the traffic congestion at the main thoroughfare of Metro Manila.
The Philippines have been facing several issues and complaints about road construction that automatically leads to perennial road congestion which is one of the key issues affecting the conditions of the environment and the quality of life in our cities. Heavy vehicular traffic implies poor air quality, inadmissible noise pollutions and a debilitating sense of neighborhood and the local community. Traffic also leads to high economic costs due to congestion delays.
Before the colonial period, the river was once the lifeline of Filipinos for the longest time, it is considered to be the main point of entry of economic growth linking neighbouring cities for international trades and also providing people with alternate transportation route.
Pasig River is one of them. It is running the heart of Manila. The river stretches approximately 25 kilometres through five (5) cities and four (4) municipalities. It connects two (2) large major bodies of water in the Philippines namely, Laguna de Bay at the eastern side and Manila Bay at the western side of the river.
Moreover, since the beginning of civilization, rivers have played a major and important role in shaping and influencing the development of the nation and the culture of its people.
The rivers were utilized as a mode of transportation to move barges or waste and people. As the time of economic expansion in the Industrial Revolution came, the economy changed and so has the role of the river. The Pasig River in the Philippines is currently suffering from a high level of water pollution to the point where citizens of the cities near the river started demanding for cleaning the river and putting up more green spaces. Thus, creating a riverfront development will give a great opportunity to create a public river edge which will be able to strengthen the connectivity of the city and the river.
Thus, this architectural research and design translation for the project proposal aims to provide new development opportunities for the Pasig River to revive its own identity and to utilize the potential growth of the Pasig River Ferry Service to attract more commuters/users through
developing a main focal ferry terminal associated with better facilities and the social, economic and aesthetic values of the riverfront.
Research for this project includes qualitative method of research through interviewing Pasig River ferry staffs, end users and duly authorize representative/s from government agencies such as Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Rational analysis of data by doing in-depth research, documentation and site observation will be likewise utilized. Case studies of recent architectural projects will be consulted for references in form, facility and context issues.
The project may be considered as a possible solution to solve traffic issues by providing appropriate, advanced and additional river port facilities to encourage and attract the people to utilize the services provided by the Pasig River Ferry Terminal.
With more than 7,000 islands to count, the Philippine archipelago has diverse ways of reaching any given destination. It had to be one with the Filipino culture, and something the Filipinos could afford. These includes roads, highways, expressways and railways for Land Transportation; waterways river ferries, ferry services, ports and harbours for Water Transportation; airports and airlines for Air Transportation; jeepneys, tricycle and vans for Automobiles. (Flores, 2013)
As the age of civilization continues, the mode of transportation has been continuously developing and given importance especially the water transportation which in the case of the Philippines has a big and/or potential solution to solve traffic problems in the country.
The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) in collaboration with Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) proposed to revive the used of Pasig River as mode of transportation. The said ferry system is operational to date but a need for development is further needed to enhance its services.
Transportation is relatively underdeveloped in the Philippines which is partly due to the mountainous regions and dispersed islands of the country and to the continued underinvestment of the government in the nation’s infrastructure. In the past few years, however, through various infrastructure projects, especially the Pasig River Ferry Service, the Philippine government has been pushing to improve the country’s transportation system.
The Pasig River Ferry Service is the only mode of transportation in water in Metro Manila. The SCC Nautical Transport Services Incorporated is a private company that owns and operates the system. In February 2011, the service was shut down and suspended but was eventually opened and operated again years later by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority in April 28, 2014.
In the 1960s, the water pollution in the Pasig River also contributed to its decline in the ferry transport. In the 1990s, the current Pasig River Ferry Service replaced the two short-lived ferry projects throughout the Pasig River. The Magsaysay Lines started its operation during the year 1990 which had stations from Guadalupe to the street of Escolta in Manila. In 1991, the service was shut down due to several problems such as the proliferation of informal settlers along the route, water lilies, garbage and other debris clogging the waters (preventing the boats from traveling at normal speeds), aside from the foul odor permeating the environs.
In 1996 another ferry service was launched, the Starcraft Ferry. This service’s fleet had 30 units of catamaran-type boats with a seating capacity of 30 people with air-conditioning. It offered a seating of 12 people, also air-conditioned, and could be hired like a taxi service for travel along the river, just like a Tamaraw FX taxi. The route stretched from Bambang in Pasig down to Escolta in Manila (a total of 16.2 kilometers). However, like the Magsaysay Lines, Starcraft Ferry only lasted for almost three years and it closed in 1999. Like the Magsaysay Lines, the problems encountered during the operation were informal settlers, water lilies (which prevents the boats from traveling at normal speeds), foul odor and garbage disposed on the river. (Pasig River Ferry Service, Wikivisually)
On February 14, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated the current ferry system with five stations operating, including Escolta, PUP, Sta. Ana, Hulo and Guadalupe. After a year, the entire system grew from 5 stations to 14 stations, with more stations still to be constructed.
The ferry service uses only 10 boats. Each boat could have as many as 150 people and had air conditioning, music, high definition televisions and toilets on board. Also, unlike the two previous ferry services, this service has full stations with amenities such as toilets, ticketing system, waiting seats and security guards. Also, it is the longest serving ferry in the river, both in terms of length of the route (28 kilometers and 2 lines) and the length of service (although the company did somewhat considered closing the ferry in June, 2008 due to low number of passengers). It is also the only ferry service that serves the Marikina River from Riverbanks Center in Marikina, although this line is not yet operational.
The latest Pasig Ferry Service was reactivated on April 28, 2014 to alleviate the traffic situation in Metro Manila in light of the infrastructure projects being constructed simultaneously. The ferry service is operated by MMDA.
To date, President Rodrigo Duterte approved by during a Cabinet meeting on April 4, 2018 the proposal to institutionalize the Pasig River Ferry Convergence Program. The plans to build 17 more stations for the Pasig River ferry system in the next four years, from the current 12. The proposed restoration of the ferry Service is expected to help address problems such as traffic, pollution and lack of connectivity among transport systems in Metro Manila. (Pasig River Ferry Service, Wikivisually)
Most riverfronts along Pasig Rivers is faced with issues on change in zoning, commercialization and industrialization that can lead to imbalance of ecological niches and fading of the waterfront’s cultural significance. It got to the point of damaging either because of disuse of an old port, some due to industrialization effects, rural urban migration, encroachment of informal settlements, pollution; all these reasons put strain on the urban rivers. Now that the Pasig River is currently in the state of rehabilitation, the riverfronts and the ferry terminals needs to be developed and improved into a park system providing recreation, livelihood and assembly space for the people and maximize the utilization of the water transportation.
This study aimed to conduct an analysis on the current state of the Pasig River Ferry Service and redevelop in terms of in terms of structure, design and interiors of the stations, facilities, amenities, ticketing system, staff, organization and management and security. Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:
What are the current status of the Pasig River Ferry System in terms of in terms of structure, design and interiors of the stations, design of the water vessels, facilities, amenities, ticketing system, staff, organization and management and security?
What are the problems encountered in operation of the Pasig River Ferry System in terms of in terms of structure, design and interiors of the stations, design of the water vessels, facilities, amenities, ticketing system, staff, organization and management and security?
What are the concerns why other commuters are not using the Pasig River Ferry System?
Based on the findings, what are the measures that should be developed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Pasig River Ferry System in terms of in terms of structure, design and interiors of the stations, facilities, amenities, ticketing system, staff, organization and management and security?
The conduct of this study is significant to the following:
National Government – This study is significant to the national government. It can be used as a reference in the development and implementation of the proposed project and/or rehabilitation of the Pasig River as river port
General Public – This is significant to the general public. The services at the Pasig River Ferry port can be improve and thereby will be convenient to the general public. The benefits will not only limits to the services but more so, to the overall traffic system of the country.
The project will include the conceptual development of the site and its immediate context as well as the architectural design of the riverfront development and the grand integrated ferry terminal. The development of the project will include the transfiguration of underutilized spaces into developed spaces in which it maximizes the social, economic and tourism opportunities that will cater the growth of the river frontage and use.
The development will be composed of different spaces designed towards public recreation spaces, community development, and transportation corridors and ports. Utility spaces and other related spaces will be regarded and provided as long as it concerns architecture. The scope of the thesis shall explicitly exclude calculations and technicalities of its function and use.
The Respondents in this study were limited to the Pasig River Ferry staffs, end users and duly authorize representative/s from government agencies such as Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Rational analysis of data by doing in-depth research, documentation and site observation will be likewise utilized. Case studies of recent architectural projects will be consulted for references in form, facility and context issues.
This study will likewise focus on the resolutions, recommendations and design solutions that may be deemed necessary by the researcher.
Analysis is a method used to determine the current state of the Pasig River Ferry Service in terms of the structure, design and interiors of the stations, facilities, amenities, ticketing system, staff, organization and management and security.
Current State pertains to the status of the ferry service in calendar years (CY) 2019 in terms of the structure, design and interiors of the stations, design of the water vessels, facilities, amenities, ticketing system, staff, organization and management and security.
Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) is a government agency which has a mandate to be the primary policy, planning programming, coordinating, implementing, regulating and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government in the promotion, development and regulation of dependable and coordinated networks of transportation and communications systems, as well as in the fast, safe, efficient and reliable postal, transportation and communications services. (DOTC, 2019)
Ferry is a ship-like or water vessel that carries and transports passengers across a stretch over a body of water.
Ferry Terminal is a transportation center in which goods and people are transferred onto and off of the ferry.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is a government agency which performs planning, monitoring and coordinative functions, and in the process, exercises regulatory and supervisory authority over the delivery of metro-wide services within Metro Manila without diminution of the autonomy of the local government units concerning purely local matters. (MMDA, 2019)
Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) is a government agency which has a mission to transform Pasig River and its environs into a showcase of a new quality of urban life thru making and engaging activities as regards to Pasig River. (PRRC,1999)Pasig River Ferry Service is a mode and only water based transportation in Mtero Manila. It is also known as the “water bus” and it is currently operated by MMDA.
Promenade is a paved pedestrian walkway next to a river or a body of water where people may walk.
Public Space is a place that is generally accessible and open to all people.
Redevelopment is a process of improving the current state of the Pasig River Ferry Service in terms of the structure, design and interiors of the stations, facilities, amenities, ticketing system, staff, organization and management and security.
Riverfront is an area, land or property that is situated along the river.
Riverfront coherence this is the existence of various activities and elements in an urban setup in a holistic unity next to a river
Riverfront Development refers to any development in front of a river. It is a process of improving the current state of the riverfront.
Sustainability is the ability of a development to be in a constant state causing no damage to the physical environment with a contribution to the city’s ability to maintain its ecosystem and socio economic structures.
Urban Edge are linear elements like boundaries between two phase , linear breaks of continuity like shores, walls, edges of developments and rivers.
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