Every time I go to a night market especially the one in Yong-he, I am amazed to see all the scooters who drive in the night market, some in very high speed :loco: despite the crowd which can be very dense.
I would like to do a complain letter to the local government, they should ban the scooters in night markets not only because it would be more nice to walk without being annoyed by them, or being in a street without engine noise and pollution, but also due to security reasons. There are kids walking and running around, they could be easily hit by one of those scooters.
Could someone give me an address where I could send a complain letter?
Every time I go to a night market especially the one in Yonghe, I am amazed to see all the scooters who drive in the night market, some in very high speed :loco: despite the crowd which can be very dense.
I would like to do a complain letter to the local government, they should ban the scooters in night markets not only because it would be more nice to walk without being annoyed by them, or being in a street without engine noise and pollution, but also due to security reasons. There are kids walking and running around, they could be easily hit by one of those scooters.
Could someone give me an address where I could send a complain letter?
but remember that this is Taiwan and that banning scooters from night markets isn’t likely. Look at Ximending - there is a pedestrian area, but after a certain time it’s flooded with scooters (like after 22.00)…
my favorite is the police cars that drive through the night market… i saw that earlier today in the 師大(Shida) night market… it drives down business. I wonder if it’s easier to bargain right after the cops have come through?
Well good people out there, you have to take in mind that quite a bit of ‘nightmarkets’ are ‘illegal’ in Taiwan, some are organized by the ‘mafia’ who will arrange everything with the local police, they are condoned, in exchange for a contribution or it’s held on private land.
City governements don’t care about this and sure don’t want to inconvenience anyone passing through on a scooter. But police in most parts of Taiwan are too occupied (too lazy?) to do anything about the problem anyways.
So … conclusion … you probably need to talk to the ‘mob’
it’s not just night markets. it’s the same on regular afternoon markets where people ride from stall to stall to buy veggies, fish, or greasy pancakes. their lazy fat butts are glued to the seat as if they are afraid that someone else might jump on and steal the scooter. they are just plain too lazy to walk for a block or two…
Similar…but in closer quarters.
Same cast of characters though.
I am sort of a ‘wide’ person. Its funny facing them when they do this in a walk-way between the stalls.
These are taken a few days ago and are from a street that has been widened by approx. 4-6 meters … why? to fit more scooters, cars and vendors I guess, can’t see another reason … the side walks have been blocked completely by vendors, so the pedestrians have to go on the street, the cooters block the side of the street so the pedestrians and the scooters and the cars have to us the middle of the street … logic?
I particularly enjoy how they’re so preoccupied with looking at the veggies at every single stall when everyone has the samn damn thing that they slow to 5km and hour and end up weaving back and forth across the damn road to keep the scooter from falling over. I just give them a “you really are a dumbass” look as I walk past them.
The market is not for tourists so unless you are a resident of Taiwan I’d say leave it alone or ask a Taiwanese to write on your behalf. Local governments around the world don’t care much about what non-locals think and for good reason.
When I have complaints about things in my neighborhood I ask my wife to lodge the complaint. Much more effective.
The problem is that they have absolutely no clue about why you are upset. So they come to the conclusion that you are one of the mean, uneducated foreigners that have no manners whatsoever…
I was once walking on a street when a middle-aged woman stared at me, mouth open and all. when I stared back, she gave me that “What are YOU staring at” look. Just ignore, I tell you, just ignore…
I say do a stake out of the night markets, record all activity of scooters driving. Then when you see someone get hurt or killed god forbid take lots and lots of pictures. Send it to all the media outlets here and then the government will start talks about doing something.
[quote=“Muzha Man”]The market is not for tourists so unless you are a resident of Taiwan I’d say leave it alone or ask a Taiwanese to write on your behalf. Local governments around the world don’t care much about what non-locals think and for good reason.
[/quote]
I agree.
The Chinese have had over 5000 years to perfect chaos. I don’t believe that a letter, regardless of how right you may be, would/could make a difference in Taiwan.
the side walks have been blocked completely by vendors, so the pedestrians have to go on the street, the cooters block the side of the street so the pedestrians and the scooters and the cars have to us the middle of the street … logic?