Municipality Lays Out Plan To Save Downtown
The Municipalidad de San José announced yesterday its ambitious investment plan for this year to remodel buildings and parks and the building of more pedestrian walkways, along with the opening of more artisan centres and the illumination of the Catedral Metropolitana.

Johnny Araya, mayor of San José, said that the municipality is putting aside some ¢8.2 billion colones (us$15.8 million dollars) for the work.

Araya said that the municipality will purchase and restore the Botica Solera, an abandoned building at the intersection northwest of the "zona roja" (red zone), remodelling the building to house the artesan shops now located under temporary shelter in the Plaza de la Democracia.

The improvement work will also include the replacing of the electrical cables and circuits of the Mercado Central, a more than 100 year old building that houses all types of artesan shops and a favourite among tourists. The building has been in need of urgent repairs for years, as electrical cables dangle exposed.

And working with the Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social (IMAS), a shelter will be built to house some 100 indigents. The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) will kick in some ¢90 million colones planting trees in various areas of downtown San José.

Araya added that the plan includes building or rebuilding a number of sidewalks in the downtown core, mentioning the Paseo de las Damas, located in front of the Biblioteca Nacional (national library) as a top priority.

Lighting of the Parque Central and Catedral Metropolitana is also a priority for the municipality, said Araya. "The idea of the lighting plan is to illuminate various axis in the city, giving priority to the Avenida Segunda, then followed by La Merced church and the Museo Nacional", said Araya.

Most of the work should be finished by the end of this year, according to the plan laid out by the mayor.