Landscape Change for Manila Baywalk

Landscape Change for Manila Baywalk

by Mary Ann Lonto

Joggers now love the new Baywalk.

It has been almost a month now since Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim ordered the removal of the stalls in Manila Baywalk, a strip overlooking the Manila Bay along Roxas Boulevard .

Tess, a runner, said she loves the newly-renovated Baywalk.

“Ever since the stalls are removed, me and my runner friends found it much more relaxing than in the past,” she said. “In the past, during the morning, there were always trash everywhere, most probably coming from the stores, and we found the stalls as ‘hurdles’ as we can’t run smoothly.”

Joggers and families love the new baywalk

It’s not just the runners that love it. Eric, in his sixties, renewed his love for the place.

“Way back, this place didn’t really have any stalls,” he said. “It was all coconut trees. I loved it then. But when the stores were built, I began to not like it. It was noisy and rowdy. I love nature better than those stores. Now that they’re gone, I come here 5:30AM everyday to relax. The air is now fresher, you know.”

He added that the place should be that way and not anyway else. “Now, people can clearly see the beautiful sunset, even if they’re on the other side of the street or when they’re inside their cars, just like before,” he said.

A new landscape for the walk

However, the regular folks who always went to Baywalk when there were still stalls said that the place is now “boring.”

Alan, a former regular in the stalls of Baywalk in the past, complained.

“Look at it at night,” he said. “It’s so dark! Whenever I drive and pass by this place, all that I can see are stray cats and dogs, fishball vendors and tambay people. For all we know, there might be many thieves here at night already!”

Baywalk at night- almost deserted

When asked why he is found in Baywalk at 5 in the morning, he said, “Well, on the bright side, the place is cleaner and the air is fresher. I was here to jog. Now I’m resting.”