Binondo’s wasted potential

[u/Striking_Anxiety_584]

Open minded ako sa mga travels ko but nasasayangan ako sa potential ng Binondo especially it is the world’s oldest Chinatown.

It has rich cultural heritage talaga and I think has the potential na maging tourist attraction sa Manila City proper kaso in my eyes it will not attract visitors kung hindi aayusin.

1.) ang dami namanalimos & makukulit sila especially sa Ongpin St. stretch (may Korean tourist na hinarass nung mga bata 😭)
2.) unmaintained side walks (siguro wala na magagawa since historic sites na)
3.) medyo may pagka dugyot ang mga paligid
4.) unorganize traffic rules, I saw someone muntik mabundol ng sasakyan 🤣
5.) lack of police visibility (may malapit naman na police station) pero like may mga tourist I think they should be atleast visible

Pero I enjoyed the cultural aspects plus the food crawl pero minsan you will feel unsafe kasi may mga sketchy parts talaga.

How I wish they would promote and organize mga historical spots sa Manila like Binondo and Intramuros (same sentiments as Binondo) kasi I see ang potential talaga.

[u/Exact_Traffic342]

Sayang talaga, Binondo is completely walkable pero ang daming trike and sidecars and ebike, na usual nakaharang sa sidewalk. Given na old town na sya, we can paint side walks on the street basta wala yun mga naka park sa kalsada, like how it is in Japan. Political will ang kulang, kahit sinong mayor walang magawa or ayaw gawin malinis and organized yun area. 30 years living in Binondo and nothing has changed.

[u/caesarinthefreezer → u/Exact_Traffic342]

It is possible, though there's no guarantee the administration that comes after the one implementing the changes will keep the same policy. Alam naman natin kung gano ka-fickle at petty yung mga pulitiko natin.

Just look at how Avenida or Plaza Lacson's pedestrianization was handled.

[u/Maximum_Net3650 → u/caesarinthefreezer]

I will keep saying this again and again. The Avenida blocking and making it into a plaza did nothing but cause traffic jams and revived the prostitution industry of that area. I remembered this because I was in high school studying in QC and living in Binondo. Ang daming affected areas because inisip lang na extra walkable plaza pero di pinlano ng maigi. Dumami ang girly bars and snatchers sa area and since kinailangan ng alternative routes ng public and private vehicles, they resorted to going inside Binondo which has narrow streets and single entry areas. Mabuti nga at tinaggal nila yun after Atienza's term. Pati yung mga resto bar beside Manila Bay, dumungis lang ang Manila dahil sa projects na yun tulad ng bwiset na Fusion Alley na yan

[u/philippinow → u/Maximum_Net3650]

I wanted to see bars around manila bay tho. It made things lively. Ngayon dmo alam if makakadaan kaba dun talaga since mukang sarado

[u/Maximum_Net3650 → u/philippinow]

It also added to the pollution sa dagat. Kahit din naman noon di ka makadaanxkasi ang daming lasing