Skopje's Centar municipality has removed the metal structure outside the "Malaga" pastry shop on Dame Gruev street. The structure, used as a terrace, had been standing on the pedestrian area for a long time, blocking foot traffic in the very center of the city. With it dismantled, the sidewalk is clear again.

"We cleared the space and gave it back to pedestrians, to whom it belongs. Public spaces must be free and accessible to everyone," said Mayor Goran Gerasimovski. The municipality says it will keep up inspections and continue removing illegally placed structures and objects.

Good that the terrace is gone. But if it was illegal, and it stood "for a long time" on a sidewalk in downtown Skopje, who was looking at it all that time and doing nothing?

If the municipality is really going after every illegal structure, it would help to publish a list: how many there are, where they are, and by when they'll be removed. Then this won't look like a one-off photo op, but like a rule that applies to everyone.