PASAY REDUXWell, well, well. Whaddaya know?
Pasay City mayor, Wenceslao a.k.a. "Peewee" Trinidad has finally jumped onto the "urban-renewal-on-the-cheap" bandwagon first initiated by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza four years ago. And that ain't necessarily a bad thing. A few weeks ago, I drove down Harrison Street and saw that a new pocket garden and fountain had been constructed behind the Cuneta Astrodome. And as I drove through the Pasay section of Roxas Boulevard just this weekend, I noticed that the rationalization of the eastern side was in full swing too. I saw construction workers laying brick, planting palms, and setting up lightposts from Libertad Street all the way to the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex. Moreover, my initial inspections show that the color of the pavement (grey and brick), the patterns (stripes), and the choice of street illumination (black waist high lamps) were actually NOT in exceedingly bad taste either. I hope this augers well for the neighborhood. It would be great to see night clubs and floor shows return to a pedestrianized Pasay City and have it reclaim it's reputation as the night club row of the city. But either way, watch out, Manila City Hall, you're being given a run for your money. Upgrade, rezone and re-green the rather tired looking BayWalk soon or perhaps risk losing the lucrative local tourist market to your competition down the street. Literally.
Photo taken on August 26, 2005 in front of the former headquarters of the Asian Development Bank (now Department of Foreign Affairs).
