Vehicular Restriction Of
San José Will Be All Day
The vehicular
restrictions of San José
will soon be expanded to
all day from the current
only morning and
afternoon restrictions,
according to an
announcement by the
Consejo de Gobierno
(cabinet).
The ministro de la
Presidencia, Rodrigo
Arias, assured that all
private and public
vehicles will be
included in the
restrictions, save for
police and emergency
vehicles - fire and
ambulance, etc. Arias
added that restriction
will also include the
use of public vehicles
during the weekends and
holidays.
The restriction will be
for a full 24 hours and
will go into place once
it is published in the
official government
publication, La Gaceta,
which is expected by
late next week or early
the following week.
Currently, the
restrictions are during
6am and 8:30am and
4:30pm and 7pm, Monday
to Fridays, depending on
the last digit of a
vehicle's license plate:
1 & 2 on Mondays, 3 & 4
on Tuesdays, 5 & 6 on
Wednesdays, 7 & 8 on
Thursdays and 9 & 0 on
Fridays.
The vice-ministra de
Obras Públicas y
Transportes, Viviana
Martín, said that the
restriction will only
apply to all passenger
vehicles and not
commercial vehicles that
requires a more detailed
evaluation before making
further changes. Martín
said that commercial
vehicles - those
vehicles whose license
plates start with a "C"
or "CL" and are red -
will continue with the
current restrictions.
Martín said that the
restricted area will
stay the same for now,
with time it will be
expanded through a
gradual process, which
has to still be analyzed
and evaluated, which
could be applied to the
centres of the provinces
- Heredia, Alajuela,
Cartago, Limon,
Puntarenas and Liberia -
as well.
The restrictions are
clear, reduce the number
of vehicles on the roads
and get people to get
accustomed to using
public transportation.
Vice-minister Martín
said that a study of the
current public
transportation is
underway that will
determine the number of
additional buses
required to meet the
demand, as well as to
determine the exact
number of taxis the
country requires.
Martín assured that the
all day restriction will
be a reality
notwithstanding the
criticism it will
generate and that her
officials are quickly
preparing the document
that will be signed by
Casa Presidencial.
"I want to make it clear
that all official
(public) vehicles will
be included in the
restrictions, expect for
those f the Fuerza
Pública, Bomberos and
ambulances. Government
vehicles will also be
restricted from
circulating during
weekends. Tours of
public institutions will
be done in groups. In
the same vehicles
officials of various
public institutions
will, like ICE, Health,
MOPT, etc, will travel
together", said Martín.
The vice-minister
assured that all public
institutions will be
sent a presidential
directive on the use of
public vehicles. Martín
added that the measure
is in response to the
media complaints, which
were founded.
The decision to
implement an all day
restriction is based on
the positive results
obtained during the
first week of the
expanded hours and areas
of restriction.
MOPT officials say that
traffic has decreased by
22% since the
implementation of the
expanded restrictions
during "peak hours" last
Thursday.
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