Cultural Development Advisory Committee Vice President-cum-Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Leong Wai Man said yesterday that the government will consider continuing the occasional pedestrianisation of San Ma Lou, the city’s main thoroughfare, and was not worried about it “losing its freshness”.
Leong made the remarks during a press conference after this year’s first regular closed-door meeting of the government-appointed Cultural Development Advisory Committee at the Macau Cultural Centre in Nape.
“Strolling through Almeida Ribeiro – Pilot Scheme for a Pedestrian Area” was the project’s official name. It was organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau in conjunction with the Transport Bureau (DSAT), Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Public Security Police (PSP), Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) and Fire Services Bureau (CB), as well as the city’s six gaming concessionaires.
San Ma Lou (“New Road”) is known in Portuguese as Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.
Leong said she believes the appeal of San Ma Lou lies in the special character of the street and the “comfort” it brings to residents and tourists alike.
Leong said she hopes that the occasional pedestrianisation would bring the buildings in San Ma Lou closer to the public by further preserving them, as Leong noted that many people tend to rush through the thoroughfare but rarely get close to the buildings for long.
“Many buildings on San Ma Lou have been vacant for a long time, which is not conducive to heritage conservation”, Leong said, adding she hoped that the project would provide an opportunity to renovate and reoccupy the old buildings.
However, Leong stressed that the pedestrianisation of a street is nothing new, as it has been done in many places around the world, and she also stressed that the project was not an art festival but insisted that “the biggest cultural carriers of San Ma Lou are the buildings along the street,” Leong said.
Following the first three days of Chinese New Year (CNY) on January 22-24, San Ma Lou was pedestrianised once more on the 14th and 15th days of the CNY, i.e., on Lantern Festival, also known as China’s Valentine’s Day.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau said in a statement yesterday that the five-day event had attracted about 140,000 people, with about 330 performers participating in 96 street performances of different types and 32 stalls with different characteristics and themes.
According to the statement, during the first three days of the project, around 60 percent of the shops in the district reported an increase in business, with some reporting an increase of over 50 percent.
The statement pointed out that the event reached the bureau’s expectation, while the number of visitors even exceeded its predictions.
When asked in what way the bureau plans to continue the project, Leong said her bureau hasn’t decided the future duration and timing of the occasional pedestrianisation, but an overall review would be conducted later, while taking into account public opinion.
Leong also said that the bureau will also take into account the opinions of other government entities including the Transport Bureau (DSAT) to assess the project’s impact on the city’s traffic.
Leong admitted that there are always pros and cons whenever the government launches a new project or programme, adding that the bureau will attach great importance to maximising the benefits of the project while minimising any negative impact it might bring.
It was the first time that the 620-metre-long avenue, which was built in the 1920s, was temporarily pedestrianised.
Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Leong Wai Man speaks during a press conference after the committee’s regular closed-door meeting at the Macau Cultural Centre yesterday. – Photo: Ginnie Liang
