QCOSTARICA – With the municipal elections three weeks away (Feb. 7), mayoral candidates are making promises that the people hope they keep.
In Escazu, current mayor Arnoldo Barahona proposes to widen the main road to four lanes, from one end of the municipality to the other.
Barahona says the existing studies and road measurements show there is enough space for the widening, but that the proposal has fallen on deaf ears of Ministry of Public Works and Transport (Ministerio Obras Públicas y Transportes – MOPT) officials.
The “calle veiaja” (old road), from the Ruta 27 is considered one of the main arteries to Escazu and Santa Ana, but, is a constant traffic nightmare, with bottlenecks at many points, like the Paco Mall, due to high commercial and urban growth.
Currently, the road is two lanes from the Centro Comercial Colonial to Santa Ana.
Barahona did not elaborate on the possible costs, construction deadlines or schedules.
But the promises of alleviating traffic problems are not only for the “old road”, improvements to roads like the marginal from Multiplaza to Avenida Escazu and the Guachipelin road from the Ruta 27 are also promised by Barahona.
Again, Barahona was light on the specific details, only saying they have presented a proposal to the MOPT and now waiting on a response.
The mayor says that the improvements in areas were bottlenecks are the greatest are the responsibility of the MOPT. “We have done the studies to tell them what is needed, we have even offered to up the money, but there has been no progress,” says the municipal official.
According to the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, Barahona is one 13 candidates for the mayoral chair in Escazu. Click here for the list of candidates and all municipal elections 2016 details.
