To motivate solutions to traffic jams in Greater Santo Domingo, the oldest newspaper in the country, the Listin Diario sponsored a first Urban Mobility Forum that took place on 16 January 2024 at the National University Pedro Henriquez Ureña (Unphu).
The transport solutions conference had the backing of the Ministry of the Presidency, the National Institute for Transit and Transport (Intrant), the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (Intec) and the National University Pedro Henriquez Ureña (Unphu).
Presentations calling for more actions and solutions to urban transport crisis were made.
Experts presented proposals to reduce traffic jams and accidents, mainly in Greater Santo Domingo, where an estimated 5 million vehicles circulate every day.
Minister of the Presidency Joel Santos spoke of the government plans underway to expand Line 1 of the Santo Domingo Metro and add Line 2C. Roadworks are underway to improve entry points to the capital city and the construction of the Los Alcarrizos Cable Car that connects to the Santo Domingo Metro.
Santos also said the government will use the advance funds provided by the Aerodom contract renegotiation to improve the Ministry of Defense roundabout and build the overpasses at Av. Isabel Aguiar and 6 de Noviembre highway to San Cristóbal. These measures are intended to improve the flow of traffic at these points.
The rector of the UNPHU architect Miguel Fiallo Calderón called for the rigorous application of Mobility, Land Transportation, Traffic and Road Safety Law 63-17. He urged the government install the correct vertical and horizontal signage of the roads and to educate the population to comply with the signs.
In addition, Fiallo Calderón urged the government to establish staggered work schedules after studying the public, private and commercial sectors; reduce traffic agents that conflict and present duality with traffic lights and restore the requirement for vehicles in circulation to be fit to do so, removing from circulation those that do not meet the essential technical requirements.
Fiallo Calderón raised the need to design a “metropolitan development plan” and an “urban cabinet,” as he expressed the problems during the opening of the Urban Mobility Forum.
Architect Fiallo Calderon said that Greater Santo Domingo is subject to the growing demand for urban services and is impacted by uncontrolled urban sprawl growth, the systemic traffic disorganization, and the failure of service infrastructures.
On the other hand, Julio Sánchez Maríñez, rector of the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (Intec), considered that information systems are key to find solutions to the transportation problem, to ensure that the proposals are based on scientific analysis and evidence and not on particular preferences.
When participating in the Urban Mobility Forum organized by the Listín Diario newspaper, Sánchez Maríñez requested that the National Institute of Transit and Transportation (Intrant) and the 911 Emergency System share with researchers the relevant data that they handle, which he said would be transcendental for academic research and for decision-making based on evidence.
Sánchez Maríñez assured that a solution to the transportation problem is urgently required because its consequences are economic, social and mental health. “It is a big problem that transcends the city of Santo Domingo; there are other cities in the country like Santiago that also show chaos in transportation,” he said.
He said that this university has paid special attention to the problems caused by transportation and mobility, and that it has a Professorial Research Group on Urban Mobility in response to its mission statement of contributing to the social transformation of the country to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants.
Likewise, Sánchez Maríñez highlighted that the university trains human resources to address the problem, with the specialization programs in Transportation, the Engineering degree in Logistics and Transportation, and the concentration in Urban Mobility, which is offered to undergraduate students in engineering careers, as well as research and technological applications to improve the efficiency of public transportation.
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17 January 2024