During his campaign, Alfredo Lim promised to reopen Avenida to vehicular traffic if re-elected Manila Mayor. AND HE MEANT IT!



Immediately after taking office, the removal of the pedestrian bricks and tiles and laying of asphalt immediately began. Work was done in just about 2 weeks that I was unaware that the ribbon cutting ceremonies already took place.





A month after the re-opening of Avenida, I passed by to see how the place looked. People are back on the sidewalks, jeepneys are back to their usual routes and stores along Avenida began to re-open.



But sad to say, the establishments that once made Avenida a nice place to shop are now gone. Goodwill Bookstore is now an "ukay-ukay" store, Fairmart / Fair Center is practically dead and a once famous movie house is being torn down to become a motel, just to name a few. The only "decent" establishment left standing is National Bookstore, and that place is only packed during school openings.




It took me several trips to gather these shots because I don't pass by Avenida that often anymore, not to mention the fear of having the digicam snatched away.


And of course, I just couldn't resist not taking night shots. So here is a look at Avenida at night.