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After more than five months of preventive isolation, where the circulation of private vehicles decreased considerably, the ‘new reality’ returned the traffic jams Endless in some corridors of Bogotá.
And it opened the doors to analyze the possibility of returning to the ‘peak and plate’ for private vehicles. In fact, the Bogotá Mayor’s Office is seriously evaluating that option.
As EL TIEMPO learned, a team of mobility experts is reviewing the different possibilities to establish vehicle restrictions. It even transpired that on Friday afternoon, Mayor Claudia López will be dispatching from the Secretariat of Molividad.
“We are monitoring every day, every hour, at speed and volumes.At this moment, what we are registering are lower speeds than we had before the pandemic, in February, in the fourteen main corridors, particularly in the afternoon hours “, said this week Nicolás Estupiñán, Secretary of Mobility.
It should be noted that one of the objectives of not applying the peak and plate is to prevent citizens from using public transport, since the crowds in the system increase the risk of contagion of covid-19.
“The pandemic continues, we We do not want to send more people to the public transport system, and, above all, we want to facilitate mobility for all people, such as medical service personnel, all health professionals, “Estupiñán explained this week, adding that” at this time it would be difficult for us to put a generalized ‘peak and plate’ for all people, and that is part of all the analyzes that we are developing
However, as the economic and social reactivation advances, the idea of returning to the peak and plate seems to be gaining strength, even in a sector of the population.
(Read also: How will security work with 72 less CAI in Bogotá?)
A few days into the economic and social reactivation phase, the average speed on the tracks fell to 32 kilometers per hour, a little more than 30 kilometers per hour that was recorded before the covid-19 pandemic.
But over the days it has gotten worse. At this time, according to the District, the average speed is 21 kilometers per hour and that if this index has a considerable decrease, the restriction of ‘peak and plate’ for individuals would return. This measure has the taxis.
On the roads that are being tracked, endless congestion has become a daily occurrence. Many of them have been reported by citizens on social networks, who have reported delays of half an hour or more.
These cases are frequent on avenues such as NQS, 68, the South highway and the North highway. One of the images recorded by EL TIEMPO on the first weekend of this phase of economic and social reactivation was a monumental traffic jam on the NQS.
This has led some drivers to state that it is necessary to return to the pick and plate for individuals. Even, a sector of taxi drivers promotes a mobilization for next September 23, in order to press the reinstatement of the measure, which was lifted in quarantine, because with preventive isolation it was not considered necessary.
Although infections have been decreasing, the virus has not disappeared from the city and mistrust remains in the use of public transport that, precisely, as a biosecurity measure, cannot operate at more than 50% of its capacity.
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This fear has pushed many Bogota citizens to mobilize in alternative means, such as bicycles, for which more kilometers of bicycle lanes have been adapted.
But also, many have turned to private cars and motorcycles, which has not only increased traffic jams -which had disappeared in the quarantine-, but the accident. Motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists, in their order, are the most affected by road accidents.
With the reactivation, on-street parking was also seen again, mainly in commercial areas, which has ended up aggravating congestion.
To continue reading:
– Videos show criminal gangs infiltrated in protests
– The faces behind the 581 injured in protests in Bogotá
– He could not walk again due to a gunshot wound he suffered in excesses
DRAFTING BOGOTÁ
TIME @BogotaET
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