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Thursday, August 31, 2006
Espinoza: Ambulant vendors and traffic
By Elias L. Espinoza
The promised drive against ambulant vendors that obstruct streets and sidewalks in Cebu City has not been implemented. No, the 2007 elections have nothing to do with the delay in its enforcement.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña may just be biding his time. Maybe he will implement it a month before the Asean Summit in December or a breathing space for ambulant vendors of at least two months.
Be that as it may, if Osmeña really wants to free the streets and sidewalks of ambulant vendors, he should not limit the drive to the places where Asean Summit delegates are expected to pass.
It would be unfair for ambulant vendors in the downtown and uptown areas if those peddling their wares outside the city center will be exempted.
One area I know where ambulant vendors abound is in the intersection in Nasipit, Talamban. They occupy almost one fourth of the roadside at the junction of Governor Cuenco and A. S. Fortuna Avenues.
And it seems nobody from the City Government bothered to stop the practice, as the number of ambulant vendors have grown in so short a time. To think that Councilor Nestor Archival lives in Talamban and passes this intersection on his way home everyday.
What City Hall perhaps does not know is that some of these ambulant vendors do not have the required business permit. They display their wares from 5:30 p.m. up and have caused untold traffic delays to motorists.
Undisciplined PUJ drivers and the absence of traffic enforcers after 5 p.m. aggravate the traffic situation there. It’s been five years since I lived in Talamban and the traffic problem in this intersection has gone from bad to worse.
Even during mid morning, PUJ drivers stop and load passengers at the intersection, which is a “No Stopping” area, when a traffic enforcer is not around. They are not even deterred by the presence of cops who are on security training for the Asean Summit.
Unless laws, rules and regulations are strictly and consistently enforced without fear or favor, Cebu City can never rise to its former status as one of the most livable cities in Asia.
***
Mandaue City officials can now rest on their laurels for being the fastest growing among local government units in Central Visayas.
The Regional Development Council, in a 2005 study, reported that Mandaue posted a growth rate of 34.6 percent last year compared to Cebu City’s 18.26 percent and Lapu-Lapu City’s 3 percent.
Business confidence continues to grow, as shown by the steady rise of gross receipts from P44 billion in 2001 to more than P72 billion in 2005. Mandaue’s economy grew at an annual average of 14 percent, twice as fast as the national rate.
The city’s annual income has tripled over the last nine years, the report said.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 31, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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