While planning for the market was underway, then-mayor Hsu Shui-te made a tour of Huaxi Street, where live snakes were killed on the street. On seeing that market ’ s crude stalls and poor drainage, he decided to turn it too into a tourist night market.
饒河街觀光夜市規劃的同時，時任台北市長的許水德，有次巡視以當街宰殺活蛇著名的華西街，看到華西街攤架簡陋、排水不良，也決定將華西街打造成觀光夜市。