SM Aura at the Fort

[jansky]

mas okay pa market-market kaysa sa SM Aura..

wala naman palang special dyan eh ung skyrise nila ..pwe.. nasayang lang ung pinambayad ko sa parking fee


mas maganda pa sa high-street. daming magaganda

[_Cathy_]

mas okay pa market-market kaysa sa SM Aura..

wala naman palang special dyan eh ung skyrise nila ..pwe.. nasayang lang ung pinambayad ko sa parking fee


mas maganda pa sa high-street. daming magaganda

Yeah I often go to the outdoor area of Market Market. I buy from the region food stalls kasi. I don't go inside the mall anymore because it's too crowded.

[Retz]

nakakainggit naman kayo, nakapunta na kayo sa aura.

[_Cathy_]

Hindi naman ka ingit inggit :rofl:

[boybi]

nakakainggit naman kayo, nakapunta na kayo sa aura.

Bilis punta ka na para may maipost ka na sa FB!

[_Cathy_]

^Ginawa mo naman jejemon si Retz

[boybi]

^Ginawa mo naman jejemon si Retz

Di nga pala pwede maging SC sa SM.

[mac103]

Dropped by SM "Aqua" yesterday para magpalipas ng coding.

Comments on the traffic in the area:
- Coming from the south, we had to endure the long queue of vehicles on the C5 northbound ramp. We usually use this route within Market Market-Serendra to skip C5 and re-enter C5 at the 32nd street flyover pag mahaba ang traffic sa C5. However since Aura opened, lagi na mahaba ang pila sa C5 ramp.
- Due to the lack of pedestrian lanes, nakikipag-patintero yung mga tumatawid dun sa gap between the big potted plants. Note na gitgitan mga sasakyan dito since nakikipag-merge yung galing sa northbound and southbound ramps ng C5.

Comments on access to Aura:
- No left turn from 26th Street to Mckinley Parkway. I thought, "this is OK, I'll just make a left turn on 11th Ave (the next traffic light) and another left on Mckinley Pkwy".
- When I stopped at 11th Ave corner Mckinley Pkwy (previously the unfinished road), I waited for the left turn arrow to turn green. It didn't. The red left turn arrow wasn't functioning either. Frustrated, I just turned right then made a U-turn on the next intersection. If BGC/BCDA is the entity operating the traffic lights, I think they are deliberately making access to Aura difficult. However they might be causing themselves more trouble because traffic on the other intersections will worsen.

Comments on Aura itself:
- This is my 2nd time to Aura (the first was on the opening weekend). For a place being marketed as a "premier" mall, it didn't feel like it. Aside from the mid to high-end tenants that are already open, I didn't see or feel anything that distinguished this mall from the other SM malls. I couldn't help but compare this with Robinson's Magnolia, which was opened a few months earlier. SMA's atrium doesn't exude the same ambiance as RM's spacious atrium. The width of SMA's "alleys" are also narrow compared to RM's.
- Flooding in the parking and leaks in other areas as seen in various online photos point to poor worksmanship. In the SM store, I still noticed some buckets between the toy displays in the LG floor.
- I agree with some of the posts here that parking is poorly designed. Coming from McKinley Pkwy, incoming vehicles will merge with vehicles exiting the parking area. Then before going down the entry ramp, vehicles will have to merge with taxis who have just picked up passengers at the taxi stand. Imagine the traffic mess on a payday weekend sale!
- Still on the parking design, we did some grocery shopping on the opening weekend. We used the walkalator beside the supermarket, thinking it would lead to a spot in the parking area where my wife could wait while I get the car. So, I got the car, drove to the walkalator lobby, and surprise: there was no access from the general parking area to the walkalator exit lobby. I ended up on the entry ramp of the parking area, facing incoming vehicles. Apparently, the walkalator lobby was only accessible to the public transport terminal (UV express and jeepney routes to Taguig, Pasig, Pateros).

Sorry for the long post guys!