City needs better overall planning

[Dolores]

Urban planner Angel Frias Sosa advocates for a change to proactive planning to stop chaos in Santo Domingo before it escalates. Architect Frias is a former director of the Institute of Urbanism of the state UASD university. He argues in an interview with El Dia that Santo Domingo needs better city planning. He believes that the city should not create ordinances for specific areas until the planned works for those areas are designed.

Frías Sosa made the comments in response to a question about an ordinance approved by the Council of Aldermen of the National District that declared the La Fe neighborhood a special use zone. The ordinance is intended to allow for the creation of large commercial plazas and housing projects in the low residential and commerce density area that is marked by the location of the Quisqueya Ball Park.

Frías Sosa said that one of the...

Continue reading...

 

[windeguy]

The best plan for Santo Domingo is to avoid it at all costs.

 

[PJT]

Some of many things needed to lessen the chaos in Santo Domingo is: ENFORCE the laws, make traffic exclusion zones, limiting the number of cars per household in Greater Santo Domingo, install smart traffic signals, get rid of motos not having papers, get rid of limpia vidrios, and again ENFORCE the laws. Suggest destroying the vehicles of habitual traffic violators. But then this is the DR, it won't happen.

Regards,

PJT

 

[PJT]

The best plan for Santo Domingo is to avoid it at all costs.

That is the best advice. However, sometimes it is unavoidable. For example, when renewing a residence card and cedula, part of the process is the government requires a visit to Migracion and the Junta Central in Santo Domingo. Why not decentralize the process to allow other cities to perform the same. Keeps traffic out of the big city.

Hate going into Santo Domingo. It is not a pleasant experience, too stressful.

Regards,

PJT

 

[Big]

That is the best advice. However, sometimes it is unavoidable. For example, when renewing a residence card and cedula, part of the process is the government requires a visit to Migracion and the Junta Central in Santo Domingo. Why not decentralize the process to allow other cities to perform the same. Keeps traffic out of the big city.

Hate going into Santo Domingo. It is not a pleasant experience, too stressful.

Regards,

PJT

It is indeed a good idea to avoid S.D, unless you require an ounce of cultural exposure, have a desire to shop for anything other than crocs and cheap Hawaiin shirts, need to have a conversation other than " who has Da best wings and beer, happy hour" or want treatment for the basal cell carcinoma caused by sitting on the beach in one spot for 10 days straight days.

 

[josh2203]

That is the best advice. However, sometimes it is unavoidable. For example, when renewing a residence card and cedula, part of the process is the government requires a visit to Migracion and the Junta Central in Santo Domingo. Why not decentralize the process to allow other cities to perform the same. Keeps traffic out of the big city.

Hate going into Santo Domingo. It is not a pleasant experience, too stressful.

Regards,

PJT

You're right. Thankfully, a few years ago (only) we discovered that we saved some of the hassle coming from north by leaving AP Duarte at the Circunvalacion, going all the way south and then taking Malecon to Migration or just going towards north within the city to go to JCE. For many years, we've stayed very clear of 27 de febrero and all the streets towards south from that.

I actually like the city itself, it's the arriving and departing that are the problem. Once we had an appointment at an embassy in Bella Vista at 9 am, we arrived into the city limits at just 6:30 am and even I could not believe it, actually spent 2 hours almost paralyzed in the traffic. It's insane really.

 

[cavok]

You're right. Thankfully, a few years ago (only) we discovered that we saved some of the hassle coming from north by leaving AP Duarte at the Circunvalacion, going all the way south and then taking Malecon to Migration or just going towards north within the city to go to JCE. For many years, we've stayed very clear of 27 de febrero and all the streets towards south from that.

I actually like the city itself, it's the arriving and departing that are the problem. Once we had an appointment at an embassy in Bella Vista at 9 am, we arrived into the city limits at just 6:30 am and even I could not believe it, actually spent 2 hours almost paralyzed in the traffic. It's insane really.

That's the route I always took in the past when leaving SD - longer but much faster. The new JCE is now adjacent to Avenida JFK just west of Winston Churchill, so I don't think it's a good option anymore. Try to be leaving SD no later than 3pm.

 

[windeguy]

That is the best advice. However, sometimes it is unavoidable. For example, when renewing a residence card and cedula, part of the process is the government requires a visit to Migracion and the Junta Central in Santo Domingo. Why not decentralize the process to allow other cities to perform the same. Keeps traffic out of the big city.

Hate going into Santo Domingo. It is not a pleasant experience, too stressful.

Regards,

PJT

I became a naturalized citizen in large part to avoid ever having to do that again. Thankfully the license I need to review annually can now be done in Santiago. The only thing I understand I would need to do now in Santo Domingo would be renewing my Dominican passport since the Migracion department does not trust satellite offices like the one in Puerto Plata to renew naturalized citizens passports.

 

[CristoRey]

Santo Domingo can not be fixed.
It would require taking thousands of vehicles off the streets. Removing the trash and junk clogging up the roads along with limiting or outright banning the importation of new cars.

Not gonna happen and therefor Santo Domingo can not be fixed. Best to avoid (hard to believe I used to live there) unless absolutely necessary.

 

[NanSanPedro]

Santo Domingo can not be fixed.
It would require taking thousands of vehicles off the streets. Removing the trash and junk clogging up the roads along with limiting or outright banning the importation of new cars.

Not gonna happen and therefor Santo Domingo can not be fixed. Best to avoid (hard to believe I used to live there) unless absolutely necessary.

There are pockets of nicesness in the capital. Gazcue, Bella Vista, Piantini, and ZC are all decent places to visit, especially on a Sunday when traffic is minimal (for SD).

 

[CristoRey]

There are pockets of nicesness in the capital. Gazcue, Bella Vista, Piantini, and ZC are all decent places to visit, especially on a Sunday when traffic is minimal (for SD).

I agree.
Lots of nice neighborhoods but commuting from one to the next can take several hours.

 

[keepcoming]

I agree.
Lots of nice neighborhoods but commuting from one to the next can take several hours.

You have no idea...lol...even short distances can take forever. Piantini for example to Bella Vista or La Julia can take twice as long on any given day. My niece and nephew attended school in La Julia, so I know that drive all too well.

 

[CristoRey]

You have no idea...lol...even short distances can take forever. Piantini for example to Bella Vista or La Julia can take twice as long on any given day. My niece and nephew attended school in La Julia, so I know that drive all too well.

It's a lot worse now than it was when I last lived there SDE in 2014/15.
Visited friends around Christmas. Took us almost 2 hours to get from K9 to Gazcue.
I don't see how it can be fixed.

 

[MiamiDRGuy]

This is the reason we moved to Cap Cana because of it. Santo Domingo is amazing but they messed it up, they keep building too fast without thinking. Very poor planning. SDQ will never be same, ever.

 

[SKY]

It's a lot worse now than it was when I last lived there SDE in 2014/15.
Visited friends around Christmas. Took us almost 2 hours to get from K9 to Gazcue.
I don't see how it can be fixed.

You can take any one mile straight ride on a main street and you can walk faster than driving. And it won't even be close..............

 

[NanSanPedro]

The above few posts are why I only go into the city on a Sunday. I did take my kid to the Pedernales bus station at about Duarte and Paris on a week day but that was at 530AM. No real problems.

Next Friday I'm going to visit the Casa Del Cordon in the ZC, but it's guagua both ways.

 

[keepcoming]

This is the reason we moved to Cap Cana because of it. Santo Domingo is amazing but they messed it up, they keep building too fast without thinking. Very poor planning. SDQ will never be same, ever.

There is a huge difference between Cap Cana and Santo Domingo. Hard to say, "I moved from Santo Domingo to Cap Cana because they messed it up". They are not even comparable.

 

[keepcoming]

We always plan our outings (shopping, etc..) by the time of day and how much traffic (we think) there will be.

 

[cavok]

The days for proactive planning are long gone. Right now, it's remedial planning. They've screwed the pooch in SD and there's not much they can do about it.

 

[Liberator]

I almost dare not say it... since the late 1980s in SDQ (intermittently), nevertheless, you are always welcome for a coffee or a cold beer and a snack