QCOSTARICA – Road signs are important in order to give accurate directions to travelers, both national and international tourists. Furthermore, they can indicate distances to destinations, alert of available services, and even inform of any nearby tourist attractions, beaches, volcanoes, parks, or protected areas.
Its maintenance and renewal must be permanent, due to the deterioration.
Aware of this need, William Rodríguez, the Minister of Tourism and Luis Amador, the Minister of Transportation, signed a cooperation agreement between the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) and the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) for the design, preparation, and placement of road and tourist information signs.
Said agreement will have a cost of ¢500 million colones, broken down to ¢125 million per year for the development of 2,000 road and tourist information signs.
“The recovery in the levels of visitation generates a greater displacement throughout the country of national and international tourists after the pandemic, poses a series of challenges, such as providing a more modern, durable and resistant tourist signage on the main routes of our country, improving the experience of travelers who wish to enjoy the multiple natural and cultural attractions, as well as the biodiversity of our country,” said William Rodríguez.
Luis Amador expressed his satisfaction with the signing of this alliance and promised to provide technical support from MOPT, throughout the process from production to installation of road signs where they are most required. of the corresponding studies, all with the aim of improving the movement of tourists.
Teamwork
As detailed in the agreement between ICT and the MOPT, “it is imperative to join efforts to protect the physical and patrimonial integrity of tourists, improving the conditions of travel on the different transit routes and places of tourist destinations.”
In other words, both ministries are pledging to work together.
The MOPT will update the inventory of the current signals according to the routes with the greatest circulation of tourists and their geo-referencing. In addition, it will supervise, based on its technical competence, the manufacturing work, placement of the signs of the company contracted under the public bidding process, and maintenance, always ensuring that they comply with current regulations and the characteristics established in the Manual Centroamericano de Dispositivos Uniformes para el Control del Tránsito (Central American Manual of Uniform Devices for Traffic Control), approved by the Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA).
For its part, the ICT will be in charge of establishing needs, the bidding process, the established annual budget and carrying out all the administrative procedures for the immediate execution of the agreement, from the signing of the agreement, held on July 25 in Guanacaste, and as part of the Presidential Tour.
Finally, the coordination and execution of the agreement will be in charge of the General Directorate of Traffic Engineering of the MOPT, specifically of the Departments of Regional and Road Signage.
In the case of the ICT, it will be in charge of the Tourist Service Department. In the event of any delay or delay in the placement of the 2,000 signs, the contract may be automatically extended for a period of one additional calendar year to complete all the corresponding preparation, placement, and verification work.
