The late director of the Diario Libre, Adriano Miguel Tejada, often dedicated his AM editorial to the chaotic traffic situation. This past week, once again the essence of many stories in Diario Libre and most of the major newspapers focus on traffic jams.
Traffic tie-ups, called “tapes” in the local language and other ther, less printable names during most of the working day by anyone behind the wheel and trying to go someplace, are so commonplace that many drivers just give up on errands.
Currently, there are many good reasons for the traffic jams: Christmas bonus money is on the streets; many families are gathering to celebrate the season, and there are a lot of really bad, discourteous, and careless drivers out there.
Then there are many “Karens” and “Kens” who believe that they can park anywhere, even in one of the lanes on a tight and narrow street.
Added to these realities is that part of the 27 de Febrero Avenue, the main thoroughfare, is undergoing major repairs.
The lack of driver courtesy was captured by amateur video when a driver refused to move over for an ambulance with its sirens blaring and lights flashing. (The car was later towed and the driver cited with multiple violations.)
Adding to the mixture are the really large trucks that, in violation of the current rules, are circulating in the National District during the day.
According to the El Caribe newspaper, drivers who try to squeeze onto the overpasses at the last minute are major obstacles to the flow of traffic.
And it seems that the sidewalks are also going to become traffic lanes if things do not improve. Motorcycles and parked vehicles are taking these over.
And even the smaller back streets that run parallel to the main avenues are becoming parking lots as drivers try to escape the traffic jams on the main roads. We can be sure that Mr. Tejada is watching this from above.
Bottom line… the government has a lot to blame for the situation. There are few consequences for breaking the laws. Evebn new parking regulations in effect violate the traffic rules.
The government-owned Banco de Reservas had the brilliant idea to offer very low cost attractive financing for people to purchase cars. Private banks followed with more low-interest vehicle sale fairs. Add to that the government constantly adds to government entity fleets. The math is simple. There simply are more cars than parking spaces and spaces on the roads mainly in Greater Santo Domingo and Santiago.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
El Caribe
11 December 2023