COMUNIDAD
PANAMÁ
Some 150 kiosk structures were demolished in El Terraplen
As part of the reorganization of the city, the Mayor of Panama began early morning on January 7 to remove about 150 peddling kiosks in El Terraplen
T he demolition follows the agreement established for December 30 2016 between the Mayor and the Asociación de Microempresarios Unidos El Terraplén S. A, who agreed to relocate to the new Market of the Americas.
“ We are making history by removing the kiosks from El Terraplen. There were about one hundred and fifty kiosk structures here, some of which were compensated in a previous census,“ said José Blandón Figueroa, mayor of the district of Panama.
Blandon added that“ other kiosks were leased by foreigners, which is not allowed by the norm. Altogether there were sixty owners, of whom forty will go to the Market of the Americas and twenty to the Market of May 5th, contiguous to the National Assembly”
The first forty peddlers already started their relocation, while the rest, destined for the May 5th plaza, will have to wait for the space to be done.
According to the mayor, it is contemplated the pedestrianization of the area of El Terraplen:“ We want the recovered area to become the gateway to Casco Antiguo, the peatonal and Salsipuedes.
The tendering of this route will take place in the next few weeks to carry out work of laying pavers, public furniture and lighting, according to the municipal authority.
All relocation processes are part of the plan to reorder informal activity and make the city a more sustainable and pedestrian friendly area.
The Market of the Americas will open its doors from January 10. The area is air conditioned; there will be a market of the Institute of Agricultural Marketing and the corregiduría of Calidonia.
The Embankment area will be pedestrianized to be the entrance to the Old Town.
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The work began at an early hour with the support of Community Works and Municipal Vigilance of the Mayor’ s Office.