Some 200 vendors illegally occupying the sidewalks on a stretch of Luzon Avenue, from the corner of Commonwealth Avenue to Congressional Avenue, in Quezon City were rounded up during a clearing operation launched Monday by city market personnel to decongest the area.
Of the total, 100 vendors were rounded up along Luzon Avenue, 50, near the Iglesia ni Cristo central temple and 30 others, from Old Balara.
“It is imperative that we restore order and instill discipline along these areas,” said Donato Matias, head of the city’s market development administration department (MDAD), which has been tasked to oversee the clearing operation.
Mounting public complaints over traffic congestion and sanitation concerns brought about by illegal vending on the sidewalks of Luzon Avenue prompted the MDAD to launch the clearing operation.
Illegal structures and illegal operations of people of the so-called underground economy were also partly to blame for the delay in the construction of the C-5 flyover along Luzon Avenue.
Prior to the clearing operation, MDAD initiated a series of dialogues and consultations with the affected vendors informing them of the city’s plan to address the different socio-economic problems in the area.
Coordinating with MDAD for the clearing operation are the QC department of public order and safety, environmental protection and waste management department, Task Force Commonwealth, the sidewalk clearing operations group of the Metro Manila Development Authority, QC Police District – Station 3 and the barangay councils of Old Balara and Culiat.
Last week, QC also cleared the corner of Commonwealth Avenue to Purok 4 in Barangay Culiat with road obstructions. Precy/ Ej/ Maureen Quinones, PAISO
