MM Times: Not A Car In Sight

(Featured Photo: Toe Myat Naing)

A pedestrian-only street fare has Yangon residents imagining a future without cars.

Many people living in Yangon might struggle to remember a time before blaring car horns, groaning bus engines and noxious fumes became the backdrop to their lives. But last Saturday afternoon, the residents of Bank Street in downtown Yangon saw their little street transformed into a pedestrian’s paradise.

The usual honking jam of buses and taxis were replaced with art installations, circus performances, face painting stands and photo exhibitions. The street opened up to families who enjoyed games of table tennis, giant chess and skate performances. In a city that is suffocating under worsening grid-lock, the Car-Free Bank Street Fair gave many Yangon residents their first glimmer into a brighter, more livable future for their city.