The fight to save a Footscray tradition has been taken to the streets.
A ‘trolley flash mob’ popped up on the corner of Leeds and Hopkins Streets on Saturday morning in spontaneous protest at a council crackdown on street traders at the site.
About 30 protesters took part in Saturday’s flash-mob, brandishing signs in support of the street traders.
Star Weekly earlier this month reported that Maribyrnong Council has been warning the traders to cease operating or risk fines up to $500 and having their goods impounded for operating without a permit, which costs about $30 per day.
The mostly elderly Vietnamese-Australian traders have for years set up on the corner to sell items including home-grown herbs, chillies and pot-plants.
The protest coincides with an online Change.org petition that has so far collected more than 280 signatures calling for the council to reverse its policy to enforce fines against the traders.
The petition argues that the traders are representative of Footscray’s unique multicultural identity and their forced removal is symbolic of the calculated gentrification of Footscray.
“This issue is more pertinent now than ever- the loss of the Saigon Market has left a void which is quickly being filled with over-scaled and insensitive developments,” it states.
Tahj Rosmarin, an architect who has been closely studying Footscray’s urban environment, said the traders have been a central part of what gives Footscray the character that the community values.
Mr Rosmarin said he and his colleague James Connor have mapped Footscray’s informal economy in a bid to understand what gave the area such a strong sense of identity.
He said the Council should be helping rather than hindering the kind of activity the street traders are carrying out in the area.
“There is obviously a disconnect with what the council sees as valuable in Footscray,” he said.
“They need to start looking at what these traders are contributing to urban life.”
Mr Rosmarin and Mr Connor met with council management on Friday to share the findings of their research, using the opportunity to push for a broader understanding of the council’s role in helping the area maintain its appeal.
Maribyrnong Council did not respond by time of publication.
