BAGUIO CITY – Concerned stakeholders suggested solutions for concerned government agencies, the local government and even the market vendors to adopt to help address the pressing problems being currently experienced in the city’s public market.
The suggested solutions were forwarded by the stakeholders during the recently concluded market summit initiated by the City Council Committee on Market, Trade and Commerce and Agriculture headed by Councilor Leandro B. Yangot, Jr. by virtue of Resolution No. 074, series of 2017.
The identified problems of the city market are wet passage way and awful stench of sewer canals in front of the lechon section; no zoning of goods for sale at Block 4, tobacco section, shoe section and other parts of the market; improper parking of police motorcycles and vehicles and other private vehicles in front of the police station inside the public market that obstruct the passage of market goers; no cover of food at the food stalls in front and at the back of the lechon section; flowers occupy the sidewalk at the Marbay building; traffic light at the junction of Magsaysay Avenue and Bonifacio Street immediately changes so that it accommodates only four to five vehicles causing traffic in the area; improper disposal of garbage, thus, the need for a suitable area for dumping garbage; need for city-paid street sweepers; vacated stalls at Block 3, Block 4, and other areas should be closed and immediately awarded to interested persons; need for parking spaces for market goers; construction of canals at the center of T2; need to clean clogged drainages and canals; location of proper sewer lines; repair and replace damaged roofing and gutter; 24-hour operation of comfort rooms; re-measure of stalls at flea market; installation of signages particularly no repairing of vehicles and no car washing; and long queue of passengers during rush hours at Guisad, Lourdes, Dominican-Mirador, Quezon Hill, Asin road, Pinsao and San Carlos Heights jeepney stations blocking the passage way along the sidewalks.
Further, other identified problems include hazardous dangling electric wires and public utility cables at Zandueta and Kayang Sts., traffic jams at Lower Kayang St. due to double parking and improper parking of vehicles of the SOCO and police stations at Upper Kayang St.; traffic jam, lack of discipline of drivers and air pollution at the entrance of Zandueta St.; rain water passes on the streets instead of the canals during heavy downpour; vendors extend their wares beyond the boundary of their stalls; weighing scales are not precise; long equeque of passengers and improper disposal of garbage at the Irisan jeepney station at Bayanihan Hotel area; no satellite market at Irisan and various barangays; no overpasses at the pedestrian crossings in the entrance going to Labsan St. towards Justice Hall, at Justice Hall towards Camp Allen, and at Chowking Abanao Square; no taxi stands at Diamond Bank, Zandueta St. corner Kayang St., and at Abanao Square; lack of discipline of passengers; minors stopping taxi for a fee; no limited hours for delivery trucks parking at Kayang St., Zandueta St., and Hilltop; congested pedestrian overpasses during rush hours; fire hazard buildings; ambulant vendors at the parks; no parking spaces for private vehicles; garbage is improperly disposed at the area between Block 4 and tobacco section; poor lighting; busted bulbs; damaged streetlights at the city public market; poor sanitation; poor lighting; leaking roof at the burned area; no washing sink; repair of canopy and flooring at the livestock station in Block 4; indiscriminate spitting of momma; need for strong leaders and supervisors, need to be competitive with other markets; roofing is leaking during heavy rains at the rice section; need for uniforms for vendors for proper identification; more barangay tanods, repainting of stalls; repair of pathways and sidewalks; no garbage bins at Harrison road for night market vendors and clients; improper garbage disposal, no portalets; high rentals and fees for spaces in Mines view building; small units and narrow entrances; guardhouse is at the second floor of the Mines view building; no proper garbage disposal; no comfort rooms at the slaughterhouse; constricted passage way for vehicles; no water supply, no proper drainage for animal manure; no ventilations of buildings; existing buildings need renovations; no cariton plates for porters; no permanent parking area for caritons as private vehicles occupy the spaces for caritons; POSD personnel confiscate goods carried by caritons; improper garbage disposal at the waiting shed of the Botanical Garden; indiscriminate urination at the parking area of the Botanical garden and traffic jam during rush hours at Leonard Wood and Navy Base roads.
For the solutions, the stakeholders recommended for the strict implementation of zoning for fish, meat, chicken and frozen products; put up of centralized parking area for vehicles; regular collection of garbage; require every vendor to schedule himself or herself in cleaning the garbage disposal area; apply self-discipline or strict implementation of garbage segregation; strict implementation of payment of fines for littering and indiscriminately urinating anywhere; vendors should effect citizen’s arrest for litterbugs and persons who indiscriminately urinate anywhere; vendors should advise senior citizens not to discriminately urinate anywhere; immediate repair of drainages and canals; report to authorities all violations of laws, rules and regulations; information dissemination on the Tapat ko, Linis ko policy; minors should not be allowed to bring garbage at disposal areas; strict implementation of traffic rules and regulations; no selling in parks which are beyond the commerce of man; encourage marketgoers to follow Back to Bayong program; limit the time for parking of delivery trucks; conduct seminars on the Clean Air Act; put up pedestrian overpasses in front of Justice Hall, or Shell gas station or at the Baguio city Police Office; put up taxi stands at Chowking Abanao Squarel; advise parking attendants at the Maharlika Livelihood Center and Marbay to tell vehicle owners not to queue at Zandueta St. if parking slots are full; request the City Government to construct a pay parking building; request the Baguio fire station to flush the Rillera building; require public utility jeepneys to limit parking of at least ten units in their staging area at Kayang St.; request the Benguet Electric Cooperative and public utility companies to fix dangling wires and cables; installation major repair of roofing at rice section to be assumed by the local government; minor repairs to be assumed by the vendors; additional lighting should be put in place at the night market area; installation of additional comfort rooms or portalets; payment of garbage fees should be uniform; and maintenance of cleanliness at all times; lower rentals should be collected from P2,500 to P1,500 and fees from P2,250 to P1,000 at the Mines View building; widen the entrance of the said building; widen the area allocated for stalls from 1.5 meters x 1.5 meters to 2 meters by 2 meters; transfer the guardhouse from the second floor to the first floor, transfer disposal of garbage area to Europa and change light bulbs; set schedule for selling during barangay market days; vendors should secure proper permits; identify areas in barangays for satellite markets; space allocation should not be permanent to give chance for other vendors to sell; strict implementation of the apprehension of vehicles obstructing roads, apply self-discipline in garbage segregation; vendors must police their own ranks; strict monitoring in the implementation of ordinances and payment of business taxes and fees; flower vendors must provide space for customers; construction of comfort rooms at Slaughterhouse area; portalets must have color coding; vendors must conduct clean-up campaign.
By Dexter A. See