Kota Kinabalu: The operating hour of the “night market” at Lorong Guamantong in Sinsuran has been changed to 5pm .
An office worker in the city had initially urged the latter to reassess the operating hour for the hawkers to start occupying the parking bays in Sinsuran Commercial Centre as the given time was deemed to be no longer practical now.
The latter’s grouses were highlighted in Hotline on May 19, where he argued the operating hours allocated to the hawkers to sell their wares at Lorong Guamantong from 4.30pm to 11pm, had brought much inconvenience to workers who leave the office only at 5pm.
He questioned why City Hall made the public buy parking tickets which were until 5pm but forced motorists to leave their spot and hand it over hawkers by 4.30pm.
A City Hall spokeswoman said it agreed to alter the time from 4.30pm to 5pm after taking many aspects into consideration.
“A new notice board bearing the new time frame will be put up at the site concerned later,” she said, adding that it hoped to get full cooperation from the hawkers following the time amendment.
Asked whether the closing hour remains unchanged, she replied it stayed at 11pm.
“Our personnel will be monitoring the area to ensure that all the hawkers are observing the new operating hour,” she added.
She advised members of the public to call its Hotline at 088-210011 should they have any complaint pertaining to the matter.
“It was practical back in the early 1990’s where offices close at 4.30pm, but it’s different now as they close only at 5pm,” said the complainant, who spoke on behalf of more than 30 employees working in that part of the city who knock off at 5pm.
He bemoaned the hassle of having to look for a vacant parking space at 4pm to avoid their cars from being blocked by some tables and chairs, apart from the hawker carts.
“They normally come as early as 4pm to set up their stalls and by then we have to move our cars out, or else we have to wait until they vacate the area at 11pm,” he lamented.
To make matters worse, he said he and other motorists had often been booked for various parking offences after failing to find a legal empty space to park their cars during the afternoon peak hours.
“We have no choice but to resort to double-parking, parking on the pavement or road divider or park next to the fire hydrant.
“What is the point of buying the monthly parking ticket for more than RM30 if we can’t use it?” he asked, who believed the traffic flow in that part of the city would improve should the night market start at 5pm. -DE
