THE City Council on Monday, January 7, approved a proposed ordinance moving the night market at Harrison Road to Kayang Street.
The move was made by Councilor Leandro Yangot in a bid to free the congested Harrison Road of traffic.
“The vendors are open to alternatives. In fact, I already broached the idea before. Since the Harrison Road is a national road, the city government has no power to regulate said area. So if the DPWH will decide to clear Harrison Road, the night market will have to be relocated. A win-win solution would be Kayang Street, which is a city road,” Yangot said.
The new night market site will at the Baguio City Market along the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Kayang Street.
“I told the vendors, if there is a more suitable site, we are open to suggestions. Our proposal is not written on stone,” Yangot added.
The city lawmaker said the site proposed is city owned and will not in any way affect traffic flow as it is a dead area at night as compared to the busy, Harrison road at night.
Operation of the Kayang night market is set from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., accommodating all present night vendors including walk in’s. If there will be available slots, applications will be opened to qualified applicants on a first come, first serve basis. If the number of applicants is more, the allocation will be decided through a draw lot with the BCMA facilitating the process.
“Take note that the Kayang Street is not a busy road from 9 p.m. to possibly till 3 a.m. instead of 2 a.m. It is easier to secure compared to Harrison Road. We have initially discussed the idea with the vendors of Kayang and they welcome the idea,” Yangot quipped.
The night market has been a tourist come on, a revenue generating enterprise and livelihood provider for many of our local micro scale business people since 2016.
Currently, it provides livelihood and employment to about 1,068 night market vendors. The city is earning approximately P1.5 million per month.
Several attempts were made to rationalize the operation of the night market at Harrison road but to no avail as the road is a national road under the control and supervision of the DPWH.
The sides of Melvin Jones at Burnham Park is being proposed but it is being stiffly opposed by concerned park conservationists.
At the moment, the night market continues to be an experimental basis upon tolerance by the DPWH.