Bike Trail Network To Be
Built In Guanacaste
(Guanacaste Journal -
Infocom) The
Ministry of
Transportation and
Public Infrastructure (MOPT)
is seeking to build
several bicycle trails
in the province of
Guanacaste, now that the
Comptroller General has
given permission to go
ahead with this project.
An obstacle standing in
the way, however, is the
lack of funds budgeted
for the initiative. The
Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB)
has donated us$1
million, but such amount
is insufficient and more
funds are needed to
begin the works.
The IDB funds would only
allow the construction
of 10 kilometers of bike
trail. A total of us$8
million are needed to
carry out the project in
Guanacaste as well as
similar works in Guapiles (Caribbean) and
Esparza (Central
Pacific). The project is
also expected to receive
$1 million from the
World Bank.
One of the bike trail
routes would go from
Liberia to Cañas, for 47
kilometers. The other
trail would be built
between 27 de Abril and
Rio Seco in Santa Cruz
(next to the proposed
highway between these
two communities), and
the last between the
beaches of Junquillal
and Avellanas.
The project entails
construction of the bike
trails, sidewalks,
railings and pedestrian
bridges.
Regarding additional
sources of financing, a
request for funds has
been submitted to the
International Automobile
Federation (FIA), based
in London. The National
Roads Council (CONAVI)
would also help finance
the project.
Bike trails are being
billed as an alternative
to the increasing cost
of fuel. However,
cyclists’ safety must be
guaranteed avoiding
circulation in areas of
high traffic. That’s why
one of the main goals of
the bike trails is
ensure cyclists will be
able to ride free of
risks. The problem is
that each kilometer of
safe and adequate bike
trails costs $100,000,
leading to the need to
find several funding
sources to make this
project a reality.
It is estimated that
once the design of the
bike trails is ready,
their construction would
take approximately three
months. The goal is to
build 167 kilometers of
bike trails around the
country. The only
existing bike trail is
the one from Barranca to
Caldera in the Central
Pacific, near the port
city of Puntarenas.
The IDB’s donation is
part of a larger project
to improve public
transportation and
construction of bike
trails in cities such as
Curitiba (Brazil), Lima
(Peru) and Montevideo
(Uruguay).
Meanwhile, the World
Bank has shown interest
in promoting the use of
bicycles in Latin
America, in places such
as Santiago de Chile.
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