Chapala has budgeted over 800 thousand pesos for 10 new crosswalks.
The only concrete crosswalk in Ajijic, which was built during the last administration. This project was not well received by Ajijitecos when it was proposed. Photo: Sofía Medeles.
Sofia Medeles (Ajijic).- Following the announcement by the Chapala government of the investment of more than 13 million pesos in different projects for the municipality, including the construction of 10 crosswalks in Ajijic, citizens were concerned, hoping that this time the project could be reviewed by the citizens before being carried out, a step the last administration skipped.
Semanario Laguna interviewed 25 people from different parts of Ajijic, of which 23, – more than 90 percent- , agreed that the design should be submitted to the citizens for discussion
The crosswalks would be distributed along different streets of the main square of Ajijic and would cost 834,740.30 pesos. This budget would be available for the project in August of this year.
Most of those interviewed agreed that it is a good project, especially after the designation of Pueblo Magico, since being a tourist destination requires accessibility for all types of pedestrians; the only thing that citizens ask is that it be a project in which both the design and the materials to be used for its construction are available to the citizens fr review and input.
Of the 23 who wanted input on the project, 12 commented that it is very important that the people be taken into account, and that there are priorities that should be considered before the crossings.
«What is the use of a good crossing, nice and even, so that, for example, a person in a wheelchair can pass, if on the sidewalk they are going to run into all kinds of barriers. Poles, steps, cracks. The project should be a little more coherent – coordinated with other improvements. In addition, there should also be traffic education for those who drive on the streets or trucks on the streets, because the crossings may be very nice, but they are going to erode quickly with the passage of all those vehicles,» said Joel.
On the other hand, Monica, one of the two people who disagreed with the need for a citizen review of the project, felt that subjecting the project to a review by all the people would generate «chaos».
«We all have different visions, and it would be very difficult to reach an agreement,» she added.
In this regard, Acting Delegado Maximiano Macías Arceo said that although he would like the project to be reviewed by the people he does not know for sure how it will be handled by the Chapala City Council.
«For my part, I did ask that it could be discussed with the people and that something be done that matched with the streets of Ajijic, with beautiful and well set stone. It is necessary to understand the advantages of these projects; recently people from the state Director of Inclusion of People with Disabilities came and inspected our streets and crossings and found them inadequate; a project of this type is needed».
Something similar should have been done during the last administration – 2018 to 2021- headed by the former mayor Moisés Alejandro Anaya Aguilar. In mid-2019, work began on the construction of the first and only intersection on Aquiles Serdán Street with Ocampo after a survey was conducted to find out what would be done with the budget, within the practice of «participatory budgeting».
Ajijic residents were upset when they saw the materials that would be used in the project. They pointed out that the use of cement was never specified. After multiple complaints, the construction was stopped, leaving only one completed. Another survey was made about the material in the crossings, with river stone set in cement being the most popular.. After a few months, the then municipal president ended the project, saying that he would not be «infatuated» with doing something that the people did not want.
Translated Patrick O’Heffernan
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