Avenida comes alive

The Christmas carols blaring from the stores at the redeveloped portion of Rizal Avenue (Avenida) from Carriedo to Recto Avenue seems livelier and the colorful lights seem brighter as more and more people flock to the area to do their Yuletide shopping.

This was the observation made by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza as he also points out that people are excited over the inauguration of the Avenida Rizal Walkway and Shopping strip scheduled at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow.

"At about the same time last year, Avenida was a virtual ghost town. Now it is very much alive. The stores are beginning to fill up with people doing their holiday shopping and store owners are excited over the prospect of a dramatic increase in their sales," said Atienza.

Manila decided to adopt an urban development tool known as pedestrianization, a technique that is widely used in many countries to revive downtown and inner city areas.

The stretch of Avenida Rizal from Carriedo street all the way to Recto A venue was closed to vehicular traffic, the center island removed, and the avenue resurfaced with interlocking stone blocks and granite.