Businesses adversely affected by the San Ma Lo pedestrian lane event should be compensated, lawmaker Pereira Coutinho has noted in his latest inquiry.
Officially referred to as Strolling on Almeida Ribeiro – Pedestrian area pilot project, the San Ma Lo pedestrian lane event had, for the first time, completely suspended motor traffic on the artery road on the Macau Peninsula and allowed people to walk in vehicle lanes.
The tourism event was negatively affected by the lack of promotion of the history of nearby areas, despite the event being hosted by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC).
Coutinho’s inquiry revealed both the cultural and business sectors were dissatisfied with the event. The lawmaker said businesses in the alley network peripheral to the main road did not benefit from the event.
Coutinho said about 20 such businesses had filed complaints with his office, criticizing the government’s lack of advanced negotiation and consultation about the event.
He said that due to the influx of crowds to San Ma Lo, police imposed crowd control measures and implemented a single direction flow. People wanting to enter peripheral alleyways could only do so at either end of the main road, stopping them from visiting the alleyway businesses.
Nonetheless, due to the announcement of the event, these businesses had ordered additional stock for the expected increase of customers – which did not occur – causing them to order too much stock. Merchandise with short validity periods was most affected.
The lawmaker asked the government to compensate the businesses, publicize the review report on the event and state whether it had consulted nearby businesses before the event.
