Querétaro presents Paseo 5 de Febrero reengineering project

Queretaro, Qro. Walk February 5 is the project that provides for the reengineering of Avenida 5 de Febrero, one of the main arteries of the Queretaro Metropolitan Area (ZM), anchored in the state capital; and that will consist of hydraulic, rainwater, road and pedestrian works.

the secretary of Urban Development and Public Works (Sduop) of Queretaro, Fernando González Salinas, explained that the intervention begins this week, on June 29, with a pluvial plan in a section of the road; two booster sumps, a sanitary drainage line, and a storm drainage line will be placed; work will be done in 50-meter sections over a period of three months.

Through planning and reengineering works, a total of 8.5 kilometers will be intervened; reengineering of six crossings and two junctions will also be carried out. According to the state public servant, the objective is to go from a highway to an urban road.

“Paseo 5 de Febrero will help mitigate flooding, privilege pedestrians over cars and promote a change of habits for other forms of mobility. There will be an exclusive lane for public transport,” the official said.

In this context, it abounded that the Federal Highway 57 –one of the busiest in the country– is part of the February 5 Avenuebecause heavy and light transport circulates through this road that crosses from the center and southeast to the north of Mexico.

Also, he highlighted the urban growth and population that the metropolitan area has had in the last decade, due to the fact that in 1970 it housed 221,000 inhabitants on an area of ​​1,041 hectares, and currently there are 1.6 million inhabitants on 38,000 hectares.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that at the threshold of 2030 the population of the Metropolitan Area will be around 2.1 million people, on 67,048 hectares.

On this avenue, he explained, 30,000 pedestrians, 180 cyclists, 108,000 private vehicles, 12,000 cargo trucks and 351 public transport units travel daily. In total, it is estimated to benefit 300,000 people.

According to the state secretary, the work will favor the development of safe passages for pedestrians, infrastructure for cyclists and for public transport, since a confined lane will be established.

During the presentation of the project, she highlighted that 64% of public transport users in the area are women, for which she recognized the need to promote transport with a gender perspective.

The governor Mauricio Kuri Gonzalez He stated that with this project the administration intends to intervene a road that was modernized for the last time almost 30 years ago.

“A work that has been a demand of society for decades, we are responding to that claim. One of the busiest avenues in the country, 5 de Febrero, is going to be converted into an example of mobility for the 21st century, it will give order to the Metropolitan Zone”, he stated.

At the end of 2023, he said, there will be a trunk walkway that will be a national benchmark, seeking to ensure that pedestrians circulate comfortably.

“It will require sacrifices from everyone, but it is worth it (…) A work whose magnitude is proportional to the size of the challenge we have taken on, the reengineering of the main artery of our metropolitan area,” said Kuri.

The first phase of the project will be developed by a local company, consisting of hydraulic and rainwater works to mitigate flooding.

Within two months the reengineering of the vehicular steps superior and depressed, exclusive roads for public transport; in addition to works to improve the urban image.

Mauricio Kuri also promised to make the project 100% transparent; and attention brigades will be established in the neighborhoods surrounding the work.

Impact

Before the start of the works, the Citizen Mobility Observatory of Querétaro requested that a real road reengineering be carried out, because canceling two thirds of traffic during the work “is not a minor matter and it is desirable to have a solution that mitigates the impact as much as possible during these 15 months.”

“Our concern is great about the already announced improvements in the frequencies of collective transport. Ten of the 15 routes that are being intervened, cross February 5 Avenue directly, it will have a negative impact on the effort to improve the quality of the service”, questioned the observatory.

The agency recommended that in order to minimize the impacts that the work will cause as much as possible, it would be feasible to inhibit car parking in some surrounding streets and allocate it to the circulation of vehicles; warned that during 15 months, the congestion will worsen, if actions are not taken to mitigate the effects of the work.

“We hope that a mitigation program and accompaniment of the temporary negative impacts of this work, which will go beyond a year”, he argued.

Likewise, he questioned that there are no alternatives for the use of a temporary cycle path; and proposed that a support system be set up with minivans that can circulate in central lanes. Likewise, the agency expressed its concern about the economic impacts that businesses established in the area will suffer.

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