A Quezon City councilor has passed a local bill encouraging two mall operators to construct a pedestrian overpass on North Avenue, in the village of Pag-asa to ease the traffic problem in the area.

Through her draft ordinance, District 1 Councilor Bernadette Herrera-Dy asked Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and SM Prime Holdings (SMPH), which owns and operates Trinoma and SM City North Edsa, respectively, to construct a pedestrian bridge between the two giant shopping malls.

She said this would lessen heavy traffic in the area as it would allow mall goers to go to and from the malls without passing though the North Avenue.

“It was noted that the large volume of pedestrians crossing North Avenue daily to get from one mall to the other has significantly affected the smooth flow of vehicular traffic in the area,” she said in a statement.

According to Herrera-Dy, the city government will allow the construction of pedestrian overpass between the malls once the City Engineering Office approves its structural design.

“The city government encourages the contribution of private entities in the development of Quezon City. Being among the city’s biggest taxpayers, (ALI and SMPH) have a big role to play in the development of the city,” she stressed.

In her resolution, she said the mall operators should jointly share the costs of deploying security officers and maintaining the pedestrian bridge.