Wong King Wei
KUCHING: A recent survey involving 98 traders at Main Bazaar here reveals that 70 per cent of them are not in favour of a plan to turn part of the street into a pedestrian way.
Padungan assemblyman Wong King Wei claimed that 69 traders were against the (pedestrian) idea while 10 of them were for the plan and 19 had no comment.
“From the questionnaires distributed recently, we found out that many traders were not even aware of the plan and hence were very disappointed for not being informed,” he told a news conference here yesterday.
The state DAP deputy publicity chief felt that the authorities should brief the traders concerned before initiating any changes or plans.
Wong said that the opposing traders were worried that the change would lead to worsening traffic congestion in the area. They were also concerned about the limited number of parking bays along the street if the plan were to go ahead, he said.
He said the traders also feared that once Main Bazaar was turned into a one-way traffic and pedestrian street, they might be inconvenienced when it came to loading and unloading of goods.
“What if a fire or any other incident occurs? Turning the street into one-way (traffic) and for pedestrians may slow down rescue work,” he added.
Wong continued to stress that if changing Main Bazaar into a one-way street was meant to attract more foreign tourists, the Kuching Waterfront would suffice.
Visitors from outside the state would not be attracted to come just because of one single pedestrian way there, he said.
“Instead of turning it into a pedestrian street, try to introduce some different activities to draw the crowds. Perhaps, they can set up night market along the street,” proposed the lawyer.