City Hall told to remove ambulant vendors near schools

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

THE Davao City Council has ordered the City Hall to remove all ambulant vendors along Magallanes Street near Magallanes Elementary School (MES) that are causing obstruction to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Davao City Councilor Pilar Braga, chair of the City Council committee on energy, transportation, and communication during her privilege speech in Tuesday’s regular session, said the mushrooming of vendors are putting the lives of school children and the public in general at risk as they are the ones occupying the sidewalks while pedestrians, children among them, have to walk on the road.

With this, the council has passed on first reading, a resolution mandating the City Hall, particularly the City Administrator Office to remove these ambulant vendors in areas mentioned by Braga.

“The vendors have appropriated the narrow sidewalk, thus, pedestrians, adults and school children alike can’t walk through the sidewalk but instead they have to walk or pass through the street,” Braga said in her speech.

Braga said a similar situation is also happening along Paciano Bangoy Street, formerly called as Ponciano Street near the Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Elementary School, which for her, is also detrimental to the public especially children.

“The areas are busy streets with all kinds of vehicles passing through. This condition poses hazard and danger to the lives of our pedestrians especially school children. The vendors, therefore, appropriating the sidewalk should be removed,” she said.

Braga also said pedestrian lanes across the city, especially those in front of schools must be repainted. (JOP)

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on June 06, 2012. link from: sunstar davao