MELAKA: The Melaka state government consistently enhances the vehicle-free zone in Banda Hilir to facilitate the affairs of all parties, particularly to provide economic spillover to traders in the area.
State Housing, Local Government, Drainage, Climate Change and Disaster Management Committee chairman Datuk Rais Yasin said the vehicle-free zone has had positive effects for surrounding traders since its initiation on Aug 19 last year.
He said relocating over 120 Uptown Pahlawan Walk traders to the new site in front of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Museum to Dataran Pahlawan in the last two weeks has been positively received by the traders.
“Since the relocation of traders, we’ve observed an uptick in visitors to Uptown Pahlawan Walk, contributing to increased satisfaction among the traders due to improved income.
This clearly proves that every improvement made by the state government in the vehicle-free zone is not meant to sideline them but to assist them in increasing their income,“ he told reporters after officiating at a martial arts event here today.
Elaborating, he said in relocating the traders to the new site, considerations made during the vehicle free zone implementation included factors such as the brightness, spaciousness and its role as a main pedestrian route.
As such, he said all parties are expected to continue to be patient, calm and cooperate as on-going improvements are being implemented in the vehicle-free zone.
“The state government faced initial resistance when introducing the vehicle-free zone initiative at Jonker Walk, but today we are able to see the positive effects and the economic benefits to traders are evident,” he added.
He said Chief Minister Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh has also been visiting the vehicle-free zone area in Banda Hilir every week to assess necessary improvements, including the addition of parking spaces.
The vehicle-free zone in Banda Hilir involves the closure of several roads for 54 hours, starting from 6 pm every Friday until midnight on Sunday.
However, the implementation period has been reduced to 21 hours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 6pm to 1 am until the end of February, to make way for the Chinese New Year celebrations. – Bernama