Illustration: Lu Ting/GT

The popular Pengpu night market in Zhabei district made the headlines of Shanghai newspapers in late November when eight city bus lines were forced to change their routes to avoid the area which was packed with hundreds of street vendors selling food and drink, clothes, fashion accessories, and other daily goods.

To address the area's chronic traffic congestion problem, a team of law enforcement officials from various departments of the Zhabei district government launched a series of overnight crackdowns on illegal night market vendors.

Furthermore, barriers were erected between the motor and nonmotor vehicle lanes on Linfen Road, a major thoroughfare that accommodates most of the Pengpu night market street vendors, to prevent them from setting up stalls along the roadside.

After several rounds of clampdowns around the area, the illegal night market was eventually shut down and all of its vendors were driven away.

As a resident who has been living in the neighborhood for over 20 years now, I'm happy to see that traffic and social order has returned to normal with the closure of the night market.

Prior to the market's widespread fame as a popular destination for cheap eats ranging from Shanghai snacks to barbequed skewers, residents lived a quiet and undisturbed life in the Pengpu community.

However, when Pengpu Xincun Station on metro Line 1 was put into use at the end of 2004, the neighborhood market quickly began to grow and flourish, attracting scores of street vendors from every corner of the city to start businesses here.

The night market usually began at twilight when vendors started setting up stalls and tricycles not only on the sidewalks, but also along the roadside, causing hour-long traffic jams until late at night. The large number of foodies and shoppers who crowded the market made the area's already-troubled traffic and sanitation even worse.

For those (including myself) who live in the Pengpu vicinity, the main gripe was always the traffic - I usually had to make a detour whether I took a cab or drove my car to avoid the congestion from the area.

Yet, the residents of Linfen Road itself, the key locale of the night market, faced even worse problems, including noise, smoke, mess and disorder. As a result, many residents whose apartments lined the road never dared to open their windows facing the street because of the unbearable noise and smoke during the night.

Brawls used to be commonplace when night fell. Quarrels often broke out between bus drivers and street vendors who crammed the street and refused to make way for the buses. Some bus drivers were reportedly beaten up by the stall owners during conflicts.

The night market also posed potentially serious public safety hazards. It's not hard to imagine a fire breaking out and stampedes given the sheer number of unlicensed food vendors and a large pedestrian flow.

Although it's true that the Pengpu night market offered many good dining and shopping choices for locals and tourists alike, as one of the many residents whose life was affected by its presence, I hope this market is gone for good so that we can resume our untroubled life in this community the way it was 10 years ago.