Manila vows to reclaim sidewalks

In a bid to accelerate the gains of his administration’s Buhayin ang Maynila Urban Renewal Program, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza launched Friday an all-out drive to clear all sidewalks in the city of illegal structures.

The first to be cleared under Oplan Sagip Bangketa by the Manila Task Force Kaayusan headed by Rufino Bunsoy, are P. Margal street in Sampaloc, Claro M. Rector Avenue in the University Belt area and Quirino Avenue in Malate.

Four housing units illegally built in the 1970s encroaching not only on the sidewalk but a portion of the street itself along P. Margal, are the first to be demolished. The structures have caused traffic jams in the area for so long, especially during rush hours.

The sidewalks on both sides of Recto Avenue in the University Belt area will also be dismantled, and vending will only be allowed on side streets of the main thoroughfare. Similar structures will also be cleared along Quirino Avenue.

"Sidewalks all over the city have continuously disappeared as a result of the encroachment of these illegal structures. It is now time to reclaim these sidewalks so they can be used once more by pedestrians. This would also improve the flow of traffic, especially along major thoroughfares," Atienza declared.

Over the past decade or so, pedestrians in Manila have been forced to walk on the streets instead of using the sidewalk. This has placed pedestrians at risk of being sideswiped and has hampered the flow of vehicular traffic.

Atienza has met with barangay chairmen in all of the city’s six districts and have enlisted their active participation in the clearing operations. The other day, Atienza held a command conference attended by Senior Superintendent Nicolas Pasinos, acting Western Police District (WPD) director, and all of the 11 station commanders in Manila, and ordered the city’s police force to back up the demolition of Task Force Kaayusan.

"There will be no illegal structures spared in this campaign. Even barangay halls illegally encroaching on sidewalks will be torn down," Atienza said.

Since 1998, the city government has also been clearing streets and sidewalks of junk and abandoned vehicles and other debris.