He calls for state intervention to implement a program for planning and constructing alternative routes.
SANTO DOMINGO.- If the government does not undertake a road infrastructure construction plan in the tourist destination of Bávaro-Punta Cana, in a couple of years traffic congestion in that area will be comparable to that of the Dominican capital, businessman Javier Angarita asserted yesterday.
The Venezuelan, who has lived in Punta Cana for eight years, told El Inmobiliariothat the country's main tourist area lacks everything, especially road infrastructure, because the main streets used by tourists and residents have been in very poor condition and overloaded due to population growth for the past two years.
“We who live here and know what is lacking, raise our voices to say that this area is growing, but we need roads, transportation for people who walk, for those who leave work at night; we are lacking many things here,” the restaurant owner stated.
Javier Angarita. (External source).
He complained that the Mayor's Office of the Verón Punta Cana Tourist Municipal District, headed by Ramón Antonio Ramírez (Manolito), is not addressing these kinds of problems that are damaging the area's image. "The government needs to send a contingent to the area to work on both urban planning and alternative routes because in a couple of years we'll be like the capital, with traffic jams everywhere," Angarita emphasized.
He explained that the main problem they currently face is population growth, and that this destination therefore requires a planning program. “People are building all along the road; the houses are all on the side of the tracks.”.
He pointed out that in front of the Jumbo store, the traffic jams are endless due to the potholes, even though it's a street used for daily life, "and the State, the Mayor's office, the city councilor haven't done absolutely anything. It's been like this for over two years with these massive potholes, and all the alternative routes are in disrepair. So the government needs to focus on the fact that if this is a tourist area with most of the hotels and tourism, it's shameful for tourists to come here.".
Businessman Angarita believes the number of projects currently underway in the area is imprecise. He ventures to say, "I think there are more than 1,000, or maybe I'm underestimating, but as a resident of this area, we desperately need planning and for the government to get involved.".
He called on all sectors to work together, including the State, to move forward, since the area is growing so much and therefore "it must be given the level we all want to continue producing.".
