MOPT Plans To Ease Congestion on Paseo Colón
An ambitious plan by the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) - Transport and Public Works Ministry - is to remove the buses using Paseo Cólon to leave the city.

Ronald Flores Vega, a planner for the MOPT, says the plan is to better move people and traffic along this route.

Buses, if the plan is put into place, will need to use Avenida 1 instead of Paseo Cólon, similar to the route now taken by the Alajuela and Heredia buses. Avenida 1 was recently resurfaced and can now handle the traffic volume, creating less pressure and less congestion on the Paseo Colón corridor. The plan is move all westbound buses along this route.

The matter gets a little complicated since some buses have their terminal on the south side of the city centre - like the Puntaranas buses - the buses would be moved along Avenida 10 in an existing "reversible" lane.

Vegas says the when these implementations will take place is not yet clear, but that the MOPT is committed to ease congestion in the face of recent high gasoline costs.

The Paseo Colón route sees a large quantity of buses coming into the city from all points west, including the heavy traffic routes of Pavas, Escazú, Santa Ana and La Uruca. Re-routing some these buses will not reduce the number of buses, it will just move them better and creating less congestion, especially at peak times.