Julia Vargas Avenue
| Doña Julia Vargas Avenue | |
 Intersection of Julia Vargas Avenue, ADB Avenue, and San Miguel Avenue | |
| Namesake | Doña Julia Vargas de Ortigas |
|---|---|
| Length | 2.3 km (1.4 mi) |
| West end |  AH 26 (N1) (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) in Mandaluyong |
| Major junctions | ADB Avenue / San Miguel Avenue Meralco Avenue |
| East end |  N11 (Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue) in Pasig |
Julia Vargas Avenue is a central east–west arterial road that passes through Ortigas Center in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a four-lane divided road with one-way protected bike lanes that runs parallel to Ortigas Avenue to the north and Shaw Boulevard to the south. The avenue stretches 2.3 kilometers (1.4 mi) from Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5 Road) in Ugong, Pasig in the east to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Wack-Wack Greenhills, Mandaluyong in the west.
It was named for philanthropist Doña Julia Vargas de Ortigas, wife of Ortigas & Company Limited Partnership founder Don Francisco Ortigas y Barcinas who owned the Hacienda de Mandaloyon estate on which Ortigas Center was built.[1][2]
Route description
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Julia Vargas Avenue originates at an intersection with C-5 Road, also known as E. Rodriguez, Jr. Avenue, where SM Center Pasig is located. It heads west across Valle Verde. Between the next intersection at Lanuza Avenue and City Golf, Vargas serves as the boundary between Valle Verde 3 and 4 villages. It passes the Ortigas Home Depot, a Sitel call center building, and a row of bars on the northern side before it comes to an intersection with Meralco Avenue and the Meralco flyover.
West of Meralco Avenue, the avenue officially enters the Ortigas Center business district. It passes the office towers in San Antonio, Pasig toward the border with Barangay Wack-Wack Greenhills, Mandaluyong at the intersection with ADB Avenue and San Miguel Avenue where the El Pueblo Real de Manila strip mall is located. This span of Julia Vargas Avenue onwards used to contain one-way unprotected bike lanes, which has since become faded.
The Ortigas Walkways Project, a series of elevated pedestrian walkways, covers the span of Julia Vargas Avenue within San Antonio.[3]
From ADB and San Miguel to Bank and St. Francis, Vargas is one-way westbound only, with the left side of the road only allowing left turns to St. Francis Street, while the right side of the road continues as a service road and allows right turns to Bank Drive. Here, at the western edge of Ortigas Center, is St. Francis Square Mall, San Miguel Corporation Headquarters, and SM Megamall, where the avenue ends at EDSA as a two-way carriageway.
Development
[edit]Carpool lanes
[edit]The road was previously a six-lane divided avenue with no bike lanes until 2018, when an experimental road diet was implemented, changing the corridor into a widened four-lane (two lanes per direction) divided avenue with one-way bike lanes with bollards. On each direction, one lane acted as a carpool lane for at least four passengers per vehicle, while the other was designated as a non-carpool lane.[4]
This traffic scheme has since been rescinded due to it being confusing for motorists. Despite this, the lane markings remain, with vehicle traffic during rush hours largely ignoring the lane markings, informally reverting the avenue back into its six-lane (three lanes per direction) state.
Motorcycle and bike lanes
[edit]In March 2021, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto announced that the avenue would undergo another road diet, shrinking the two car lanes and adding a motorcycle lane parallel to the bike lane. The bike lane will also be physically separated by plant boxes.[5]
Intersections
[edit]| Province | City/Municipality | km[6] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasig City | N11 (E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue) | Traffic light intersection. | |||
| Frontera Drive / Kaimito Street | Frontera Drive is part of Ortigas East (formerly Tiendesitas). Kaimito Street provides access for Valle Verde 2. | ||||
| Valle Verde 5 Celery gate[a 1] | Westbound access only. Access for Valle Verde 5. | ||||
| Valle Verde 2 Sampaguita gate[a 2] | Access for Valle Verde 2. | ||||
| Lanuza Avenue | |||||
| Coconut Street | Access for Valle Verde 4. | ||||
| Molave Street | Access for Valle Verde 3. | ||||
| Meralco Avenue | Traffic light intersection. Meralco Avenue goes over the road via flyover. | ||||
| Sapphire Road | Eastern terminus of the Ortigas Walkways Project. | ||||
| Grant Road | |||||
| Emerald Avenue | Traffic light intersection. Elevated plaza segment of Ortigas Walkways Project. | ||||
| Ruby Road | |||||
| Pasig–Mandaluyong boundary | ADB Avenue / San Miguel Avenue | Traffic light intersection. Road becomes one-way towards EDSA. Western terminus of the Ortigas Walkways Project. | |||
| Mandaluyong | Bank Drive / St. Francis Street | Road becomes two-way again and acts as a service road for SM Megamall. | |||
| AH 26 (N1) | Western terminus. | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
Landmarks
[edit]
- Antel Global Corporate Center
- Integrated Bar of the Philippines
- Metrobank Ortigas Center
- The Centerpoint Ortigas
- The Currency Ortigas
- City Golf
- El Pueblo Real de Manila
- One Corporate Center
- CW Home Depot
- New Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Head Office
- San Miguel Corporation Headquarters
- St. Francis Square Mall
- Sitel
- SM Center Pasig
- SM Megamall
- The Podium
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ About OCLP published by Ortigas & Company Limited Partnership; accessed October 15, 2013.
- ^ Tableau: encyclopedia of distinguished personalities in the Philippines Archived October 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine published by Ortigas Foundation Library; accessed October 15, 2013.
- ^ Medina, Rachelle (August 16, 2019). "Ortigas Center Has Become a Walkable District, and We Didn't Even Notice It". SPOT.PH. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ "'Apat Dapat': Parts of Julia Vargas Ave. in Pasig declared as carpool lanes". GMA News Online. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ "J. Vargas Ave. in Pasig to have a dedicated motorcycle, bike lane - Auto News". AutoIndustriya.com. March 19, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ "Road and Bridge Inventory". www.dpwh.gov.ph. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
