Constant violations of city law by Unicaribe, a private university located on the Malecon, have perplexed many. The university has not invested in parking facilities, and has instead encouraged urban sprawl that is affecting local residents and students have been killed crossing the leading highway to parking on the seafront side. The city government of the National District (ADN) has denied the university permission to use parkland area on the seafront side, but the university persisted and succeeded in getting the Public Works Office of the Presidency (OISOE) to build an overpass for safe access to parking on the seafront side, despite the fact that this violates municipal law.
The ADN has now obtained a ruling from the Manganagua Municipal Affairs Court that ruled in its favor, ordering a halt to construction by OISOE. Unicaribe is even said to have encouraged violent protests when city workers tried to dismantle the construction of the pedestrian bridge.
The city government has asked Unicaribe to build a parking area on their side of the street, as other universities have done. It is also proposing a series of measures to ensure student safety, including protected walkways.
Nonetheless, the city government says that the university continues to display what it describes as “a belligerent attitude.” ADN director of Transport and Urban Mobility, Andres Segura told Diario Libre that the Universidad del Caribe has persisted in the construction of the pedestrian bridge over the Malecon, despite opposition from the city government. The city government says it will not privatize a public park area.
Writing in today’s El Dia, Friday 7 June, lawyer Carlos Salcedo that the university has built several illegal structures and has not invested in parking despite being obliged to do so. He adds that the bridge will increase informal vendor traffic and chaos in the area and that it represents an upfront challenge to municipal authority by the university and the central government itself.
http://eldia.com.do/columnas/2013/6/6/116041/Un-puente-peatonal-a-la-fuerza