An elderly resident surnamed Chen, who lives near the site of the closed Friday night market, said he was glad the city shut down the vendors.
"We could never find a parking place on Friday nights, those of us who live near the sports stadium, and it was noisy and full of litter," Chen said. "It was dangerous for fire engines and ambulances to get through, and the vendors didn't pay any money to rent spaces or to clean the place up afterwards. It was just a big, noisy eyesore, and most of all, it had always been illegal, for more than 20 years."
According to Pier Lin (
Residents who lived near the night markets had been complaining to the city council and the mayor's office for years about the noise, traffic and litter the night markets generated, Lin said.
In addition, Lin said, the closure of the markets was not done to hurt or punish the vendors, but to make the city more livable.
"There's a silver lining to this story, a happy ending," Lin said. "Although the old, illegal night markets have been successfully closed down, there are now seven new night markets on private land that are legal and operational."
Lin said the city government has also offered a large site in the city center for a new night market that will open in November.
The market will be administered by a private firm, which will make sure the market is clean and efficient in regard to noise, garbage and parking.
Lin also said that Chiayi's steps to deal with its illegal night markets could possibly be followed by other cities.
"Some officials from other cities up north and down south have telephoned Chiayi city hall with congratulations on a job well done, and have asked for advice on how to mount similar operations against their illegal night markets," Lin said. "Chiayi is kind of a pioneer in this regard now."
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