Almeida Ribeiro Avenue, also known as San Ma Lou, was recently converted into a pedestrian zone as part of a walking initiative on it. The program was originally scheduled to be implemented during Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but due to the pandemic, it was postponed to the first three days of the Chinese New Year. Benefiting from the relaxation of pandemic policies, Macau received a large number of visitors and Chinese New Year allowed the size of the crowds to be maximized.
The pedestrian area for this initiative included a stretch of Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, between Rua do Guimarães and Rua Central, with a length of about 450 meters.
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The pedestrian area was divided into three main sections: the “Magic Moment” section, located between Rua do Guimarães and Travessa do Matadouro, decorated with colorful clouds and light projections at night.
The “Trail in the Forest” section, located between Travessa do Matadouro and Rua dos Mercadores, was randomly paved with artificial vegetation to create a relaxed atmosphere for walking around the city, and the “Oasis in the City” section, located between Rua dos Mercadores and Largo do Senado, saw tables and chairs with parasols placed in the form of a terrace for pedestrians to rest. In order to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, several rabbit sculptures and several large suspended and fixed decorations were also placed along Almeida Ribeiro Avenue. On the first day of the event, the avenue, which is usually completely congested with traffic, became an attraction for pedestrians, not only within the street itself, but also within the social networks.
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Long lines snaked from food stalls in the pedestrian zone, and according to officials, the initiative attracted about 93,000 visitors during the first three days of the vacation period from January 22 to 24.
CLOSED STREET, OPEN STREET
“Today is probably the busiest day in the history of Almeida Ribeiro Avenue!” Ms. Chen, President of the Macau Tea Art Professionals Association, tells Plataforma. The resident says that her tea house used to close during the Chinese New Year, but this year she decided to stay open especially for this initiative. Even with the need to pay her employees extra, Ms. Choi hopes that the initiative has made the street a little livelier and more prosperous.
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Compared to the crowds walking down the middle of the street, the sidewalks were relatively empty. It was the first day of the new year and many stores were not yet open. On the first day of the initiative, the tea house collaborated with the food delivery app “Aomi,” inviting two digital ‘influencers’ for a live broadcast in Chinese attire while handing out various giveaways and conducting a series of promotional actions. The shopkeeper highlighted the large number of people who flocked to Almeida Ribeiro, but warns that they were overly concentrated in the middle of the lane, which forced her business to work hard to draw pedestrians’ attention.
“Why aren’t we invited by the authorities to participate in the initiative? If we are not invited, we don’t know what our role is,” the shopkeeper says.
Ms. Zhou, who has operated a dried seafood store on the avenue for more than 20 years, described that the initiative went better than expected, but warned that the stores were only informed about the project after it was reported in the press. The local merchant agrees that the project will help attract more people in the long run, but does not notice a big short-term difference in her business. Ms. Chen, a merchant who specializes in selling cigarettes and alcoholic beverages to customers from mainland China, also says that she only learned about the initiative after reading the newspaper.
She says she finds the initiative advantageous for bringing in more people flow, but that it will not help her business much because of the difference in market segments.
A WELL-RECEIVED IDEA
The public’s response to the project has been positive, and the crowds on Almeida Ribeiro Avenue during the Chinese New Year were undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the authorities. The Cultural Institute, one of the departments behind the initiative, even decided to extend the project from the 14th to the 15th day of the Chinese New Year on February 4-5. Following the theme of the Chinese Lantern Festival, many lanterns were also added as festive decorations.
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The IC also extended the opening hours of the Tak Seng Pawnshop during these two days, providing free guided tours and souvenir stalls related to Macau’s intangible heritage. These two extra days continued to attract many visitors with crowds flocking to the avenue after dark. Among the crowd that gathered for the Lantern Festival, we met Mr. Leung, who brought his children for the event.
“There aren’t many places to go in Macau. This area is close to the central district, so it has a lot of attractions nearby.” However, Sam, who visited the street twice during these initiatives, confessed that by the second time there were not so many elements that surprised him.
FOREVER?
The strong popularity of the initiative has also launched a debate as to whether the avenue should be converted into a permanent pedestrian zone.When asked by the press about this option recently, the Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leong Wai Man, replied that a general analysis will be conducted after the event, combining the opinions of departments such as the Traffic Affairs Bureau and the Public Security Police.
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The director stressed that if the initiative was well received by the public and proceeded smoothly, the authorities would consider repeating it.On its first day the initiative fell on a public holiday, which prevented the flow of normal food traffic to work or school from being greatly affected. But when the plan was carried out a second time, it fell on a normal weekend, with the closure of those lanes causing a greater impact to traffic.
On February 4 the local media reported that during the implementation of the “Strolling through Almeida Ribeiro” initiative, the pressure on the surrounding road network increased considerably.
In addition to traffic in the Praia Grande area, traffic in the Inner Harbour was also brought to a virtual standstill. Several bus lines were diverted, along with private car traffic. At night, traffic was almost at a standstill from Bridge 16 to Sai Van Bridge, and even motorcycles took almost 20 minutes to pass along the avenue. Eva a housewife, tells PLATAFORMA that by bus you only need to pass through four stops to get from Patane to Praia Grande, but the traffic was such and the alternative bus routes so long that walking was the most “viable” option.
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“Continuing the initiative is not a bad idea. The first three days of Chinese New Year were just for family gatherings, so there was less traffic pressure. But when we got to the Lantern Festival, which is already a normal weekend, daily activities resumed,” says Eva. “That day I had to take my daughter to class, [with the initiative] making everything more inconvenient.”
In comments to PLATAFORMA, urban planner Rhino Lam pointed out that during the first few days of the initiative DSAT temporarily diverted 26 bus routes, a significant part of the bus network in Macau. “The first three days of the new year are holidays, so the impact on public transport was not significant. If the program is implemented over a longer period in the future, alternatives to the public transport system should be considered,” he says.
“Almeida Ribeiro is one of the few roads in Macau that does not have an alternative route. If motor vehicles don’t pass through there, they will have to take a detour to A-Ma or Sai Van before they can return to Ferreira do Amaral Square, or Avenida do Infante D. Henrique.” Lam pointed out that what needs to be thought about now is whether there is a future alternative to this route.
“In the city’s current development strategy, is there really a need for a main road that runs from east to west of the Macau Peninsula?”
The urban planner also stressed that the community should analyze whether the dependence on Almeida Ribeiro Avenue is a habit that can be changed.
“If the use of Almeida Ribeiro Avenue for buses is just a habit, so to speak, perhaps there are conditions to extend or transform this road into a permanent pedestrian zone, with the reduction of the number of buses on the avenue for a long period of time.”