The view from the ‘Mt. Kamuning’ footbridge

After repeatedly stressing that the new footbridge soaring over EDSA-Kamuning in Quezon City is safe for pedestrians, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has capitulated to public dismay and said that it will redesign the steep structure.

Photos from GMA News reporter Ivan Mayrina give a glimpse of the view from the top of the controversial footbridge, which cost P10 million to build.

According to the Philippine News Agency, the footbridge is nine meters (30 feet) high. For a pedestrian on the open-air structure, it will be equivalent to being on the third floor of a building.

Below it are the power lines and tracks of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3).

“Maglalagay po tayo ng second landing. This is to address the concerns of the public na matarik po masyado ang bridge,” MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Social media users have both mocked and expressed their concerns about the bridge, calling it "Stairway to Heaven," "Mt. Kamuning," and "Mt. EDSA," and saying that it was too high and too steep. Persons with disability, pregnant women, children, and the elderly would find it difficult if not impossible to use the bridge, they added.

Philippine Global Road Safety Partnership secretary general Alberto Suansing also said that crossing the bridge and going down its steps could also pose a challenge for those with height sickness. 

The MMDA had originally scheduled the opening of the bridge for November 15. Now, with the modifications to be made, the agency has moved the opening to before the year ends. — Llanesca T. Panti/BM, GMA News