Country Readying For
Semana Santa
Semana Santa or Easter
Week, a time that many
Costa Rican head for the
beach, resorts and
mountains, is around the
corner and the Policía
de Tránsito (traffic
police) say they are
ready, working around
the clock in full force,
patrolling the major
highways and routes
around the country.
The hope of the Tránsito
is to reduce the number
of traffic accidents and
fatalities and according
to the MOPT minister,
Karla González, all 850
Tránsito officers will
be on duty beginning
this Friday (March 14)
and until Sunday March
23.
The main roads that
Tránsito officials will
be mostly visible on are
the routes to Limón,
Guanacaste, Puntarenas
and the southern zone.
Part of the Tránsito
program is to have spot
checks along the major
routes, checking
drinking and documents
of drivers and the
vehicles. The spot
checks will be during
the day and night.
German Marín, head of
the Policía de Tránsito,
said that the objective
is to make drivers aware
of the dangers of
reckless driving and
consuming alcohol before
getting behind the wheel
and the hope is that the
spot checks will raise
the consciousness of
many drivers to slow
down.
In addition to the
Tránsito officials on
the road, the Consejo de
Transporte Público (CTP)
will have 20 undercover
agents riding the buses
ensuring that bus
drivers obey the traffic
laws, in addition to a
untold number of
mechanics who will be
carrying out mechanical
inspections of buses.
Authorities are asking
users of buses to help
in the fight to reduce
deaths on the roads by
calling either 911 or
800-Tránsito any
irregularities.
Bus operators say they
have added more buses
and with more frequency
on the major routes to
Liberia, the Caribbean,
Puntarenas and the
southern zone, reminding
that no buses will
operate on Good Friday,
March 21.
As to the weather, the
Instituto Meteorológico
Nacional (IMN) -
national weather service
- is predicting hot and
sunny weather for most
areas of the country.
Temperatures are
expected to range
between 19C and 37C for
the north and central
Pacific coast and 20C to
33C for the south
Pacific areas for most
of the week.
The Central Valley is
expected to have normal
seasonal temperatures
for Semana Santa with
possible strong winds at
times, Areas like San
José, Cartago and Escazú,
will see cooler
temperatures than in
places like Heredia,
Alajuela and Santa Ana.
The Caribbean coast and
the northern zone is
expected to see hot days
and cool nights with
scattered showers.
Many businesses will be
closed starting
Wednesday and re-open on
Monday, some will be
closed all week, better
to call ahead.
Government workers will
be off work as Wednesday
and be back on the job
on Monday. Most malls
and many retailers are
expected to be open,
supermarkets will be on
holiday hours for
Thursday and Friday. |
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