Street vendors, installed along roadsides, transform these spaces into informal markets, creating urban disorder directly affecting traffic.
The illegal occupation of public spaces and roadsides by street vendors in Bouira constitutes a recurring and worrying problem. This phenomenon, far from reducing, is growing over time. Despite the coercive measures put in place by the public authorities to put an end to these illegal activities, the situation remains unchanged.
A simple visit to the capital of the wilaya or along the RN18, 5 and 8 allows you to see the extent of the problem. Street vendors, installed along roadsides, transform these spaces into informal markets, creating urban disorder directly affecting traffic. On these sections, driving becomes a perilous exercise.
The huts installed haphazardly on the sides of the road cause traffic jams and slowdowns, making journeys particularly difficult. Many exasperated motorists say: “You have to have a lot of patience to get to your destination on time.” If citizens do not necessarily oppose the presence of these merchants, they still call for concrete solutions from the authorities concerned.
“We are not against their establishment, but it is up to local officials to offer them suitable spaces. There are local markets, built at great expense, like those of Oued Hous and Draâ El Bordj, but which unfortunately remain unoccupied or abandoned,” they add bitterly. This situation illustrates ineffective management of the file.
Local markets, although designed to accommodate these commercial activities, are left abandoned. Their underuse is all the more striking as they represent obvious solutions for relieving road congestion and organizing local commerce. There is no shortage of requests from young traders to benefit from space in these markets. “I made my request to obtain a space, in vain,” regretted a merchant.
Other traders, particularly those who occupy space in fruit and vegetable markets, also prefer to set up shacks on the sides of the roads. In the absence of such initiatives and concrete solutions, the anarchic occupation of public spaces continues with negative consequences not only on traffic and road safety, but also on urban development.
