ericurmudgeon Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 So, we had not been in to Chapala since last year but decided to take a stroll on the malacon recently. OMG!!! Who in their right mind decided to build that incredibly ugly eyesore of a "bridge" from the beach to the Fisherman in the lake? Way too big, way too ugly, totally unneeded. What a shame and what a waste of money! So disappointing. ???. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSOKI Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 Five million pesos worth of waste. ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeri Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 I always see people walking on it ... is it possible this is what locals want, I have no idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 The locals there tell me that they too think it is ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBearII Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Mayor trying to make Chapala more of a tourist attraction. Remember that a few short years ago the Lake level was down and one could walk out to the statue. Altho, why a religious statue gets any attention from municipal authorities when there is a separation of church and state here is beyond me. In my mind, funds would be better spent improving things for the locals. Which reminds me that I cannot figure out the mind of the person who thought to paint the stairs (on the main drag going up to the hill) but had NO thought of railings or alternate ways for the old and/or disabled to get from the hill to the main drag. I am tired of hearing about making Chapala a major tourist attraction, while the officials disregard the needs of the people who live there. For shame!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned small Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 The funds were supplied specifically for this project from the state and federally and not for anything else. The locals and tapatios I know like it.One can see people using it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned small Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 9 minutes ago, JayBearII said: Mayor trying to make Chapala more of a tourist attraction. Remember that a few short years ago the Lake level was down and one could walk out to the statue. Altho, why a religious statue gets any attention from municipal authorities when there is a separation of church and state here is beyond me. In my mind, funds would be better spent improving things for the locals. Which reminds me that I cannot figure out the mind of the person who thought to paint the stairs (on the main drag going up to the hill) but had NO thought of railings or alternate ways for the old and/or disabled to get from the hill to the main drag. I am tired of hearing about making Chapala a major tourist attraction, while the officials disregard the needs of the people who live there. For shame!!! There is a lot more being done for the people in Chapala including in the other villages like Ajijic and Santa Cruz for example, than you suggest. The shame is yours for thinking otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xena Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 59 minutes ago, Ajijic_hiker said: could have repaired so many streets with just some of those funds...? If I recall correctly the money for that project came from a state or federal grant. Municipalities applied for grants and the funds could be used only for the project applied for. There were specific parameters for the projects applied for. Street repair and other maintenance was not eligible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 No doubt you can cite examples.... 39 minutes ago, ned small said: There is a lot more being done for the people in Chapala including in the other villages like Ajijic and Santa Cruz for example, than you suggest. The shame is yours for thinking otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 1 hour ago, ned small said: There is a lot more being done for the people in Chapala including in the other villages like Ajijic and Santa Cruz for example, than you suggest. The shame is yours for thinking otherwise. Ned, if you would be kind enough to point several of those out in each location, I feel it would be of much benefit to those who think there is very little being done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dichosalocura Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Well, didn't they just redo the plaza in San Nicolas, they built some kind of bird viewing area around the San Antonio malecon with raised pathways. They repaved the street behind the Chapala Mercado and the street by the pemex station, and also that Crow street up in the Loudes neighborhood, to just name a few things off hand. And they cut down a lot of trees, actually they've been rather busy! I do believe the andador to the Jesus the fisherman statue was completely unnecessary, but I don't think it looks that bad. The monstrosity in my opinion is that ugly metal sail like structure where the basket ball court used to be. What makes the andador look so bad in my opinion is that its proportions are all off in comparison to the island with the statue, it honestly drawfs the island. In order for it to look right, they now need to enlarge the island and raise the statue to make it higher so that it balances out with the new andador. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned small Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 1 hour ago, Hud said: Ned, if you would be kind enough to point several of those out in each location, I feel it would be of much benefit to those who think there is very little being done. Dichosalocura beat me to it but something most of you will probably not see is an alleyway in Ajijic which is inhabited by people with not so much money that looks quite nice now. I recall that Javier's brother did the same thing in that village when he was Presidente with one of those alleyways. They are usually inhabited by extended families. Yes Mr. Crowe was totally done including road,sidewalks,power poles with lighting, water, sewer,staircase with seating and a lot of home improvements including 2 such unseen alleys. And of course a splendid mural in my area at the top of Mr. Crowe. Two villages east of Chapala are getting rebuilt plazas or already have them and lots of public works in Tepehua neighbourhood where some of the homes have a blanket for a door and dirt floors. I know of 2 small one room homes that were built for a couple of old people. If you're really interested you can see this and more on Javier's and Chapala's Facebook. There are even videos of work in progress on all these and other projects. I personally think that it's nice that this government also cares about people that can't afford certain things like some of us can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdlngton Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 1 hour ago, dichosalocura said: Well, didn't they just redo the plaza in San Nicolas, they built some kind of bird viewing area around the San Antonio malecon with raised pathways. They repaved the street behind the Chapala Mercado and the street by the pemex station, and also that Crow street up in the Loudes neighborhood, to just name a few things off hand. And they cut down a lot of trees, actually they've been rather busy! I do believe the andador to the Jesus the fisherman statue was completely unnecessary, but I don't think it looks that bad. The monstrosity in my opinion is that ugly metal sail like structure where the basket ball court used to be. What makes the andador look so bad in my opinion is that its proportions are all off in comparison to the island with the statue, it honestly drawfs the island. In order for it to look right, they now need to enlarge the island and raise the statue to make it higher so that it balances out with the new andador. Oh, please, no. No more public money should be spent on a religious statue. Wasn't there some controversy when the bridge was being built because they were not following the approved plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dichosalocura Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 I think that for those of us that live in Chapala and walk the streets and the malecón daily, what is worse than having the government waste a lot of money on a ridiculous public project is have the government waste this money and have a poorly constructed and off kilter monstrosity as the end result. So, if they are going to do it, regardless, make sure its done right, please! And for those that haven´t realized it yet, the religious statue is already been built, it was built around 6 or 7 years ago, and the money has been spent on this statue. Now we have been awarded a bridge type structure that is way to big for the island and statue, I think if they have to build these things, they need to work on making it look right and have the pieces fit accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guiness Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 By the way, the "Fisherman" is actually Jesus. Just sayin............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 If the issue is to provide for tourists and Tapatios, why not repair the main road through Chapala and through to Riberas. The "cobble" stones were never put in correctly and have sunk because of inadequate compaction of the ground underneath. Hildalgo where it enters Chapala by the light, is a disgrace with no pavement to the sidewalk. I don't particularly like parking in a ditch in order to visit the businesses along that stretch of road and I"ll bet the tourists see Chapala as a city that doesn't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 The roads in Riberas are completely ignored, as is the water drainage problem. The last three governments have spent everything they can on "tourist attractions" without including corresponding infrastructure. The only thing I've ever seen that is an improvement, is the parking for the little park just east of Riberas on the lake... a park that is barely ever populated. Everything else is icing, which is supposed to be applied after the cake is ready. Stop asking for grants and state and municipal money for stuff that only causes more traffic problems, and focus on the real issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Maybe if they bring in more tourists it justifies an increase in local taxes. Surely those living in a "tourist area" understand the need to pay more taxes, no matter what local services we get, right? Somehow it bothers me that plazas, bird viewing areas, a splendid mural, a giant sail, etc. just don't seem to do much to make the lives of locals better, although these are done "for the people". But, then I remember that we are in Mexico, and those types of things have always been done to improve their lives by governments (lots of corruption room in those projects). Many locals seem to appreciate that. So, who am I to complain, as I will never, in my lifetime, change anything about how Mexico does business. Some would say that is pessimistic, I call it realistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Note that much of Chapala, and a lot of Riberas del Pilar, sit on an area where lakebed mud and sand meet a geologically active and very unstable uplift, subject to almost constant small tremors and occasional earthquakes. The cracking of streets and buildings in the entire Lake Chapala area is evidence of this. To expect a stable foundation for a street or highway is a pipe dream, one far too expensive and complex to even be considered. Even a concrete roadbed several feet thick would be likely to crack and move. It would probably be less expensive to put the carretera on a string of barges the length of the lake, all 55 miles, with pontoon bridges to each village. No, that won‘t happen either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 " plazas, bird viewing areas, a splendid mural, a giant sail, etc. " All lovely. Like I said, let's do some groundwork before adding the fancies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 4 minutes ago, RVGRINGO said: Note that much of Chapala, and a lot of Riberas del Pilar, sit on an area where lakebed mud and sand meet a geologically active and very unstable uplift, subject to almost constant small tremors and occasional earthquakes. The cracking of streets and buildings in the entire Lake Chapala area is evidence of this. To expect a stable foundation for a street or highway is a pipe dream, one far too expensive and complex to even be considered. Even a concrete roadbed several feet thick would be likely to crack and move. It would probably be less expensive to put the carretera on a string of barges the length of the lake, all 55 miles, with pontoon bridges to each village. No, that won‘t happen either. No argument there, but repairs and upkeep are supposed to be part of any govt's budget. For example, this whole thing about who "owns" which part of the highway, and who should be replacing burned-out semáforos, is ludicrous. It should never even have to come up for discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Even having a road between Chapala and Ajijic is a rather new experience. Some folks still living at Lakeside can remember when there was no road, and one had to take a boat. In the longer historical view, a lot has been accomplished along the shores of Lake Chapala; explosive growth, really. Unfortunately, there are some recent arrivals who want to see everything “upgraded“ to their current fantasies in an instant, as “the end is near“ and they want what they want, and they want it NOW. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Really, RV, you feel that fixing the roads and the extreme water leaks is a fantasy upgrade? And your definition of "new" is a little out of perspective anyone who has lived here since the 80s.... that road was built before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 2 hours ago, RVGRINGO said: Even having a road between Chapala and Ajijic is a rather new experience. Some folks still living at Lakeside can remember when there was no road, and one had to take a boat. In the longer historical view, a lot has been accomplished along the shores of Lake Chapala; explosive growth, really. Unfortunately, there are some recent arrivals who want to see everything “upgraded“ to their current fantasies in an instant, as “the end is near“ and they want what they want, and they want it NOW. Good luck. Well, speaking for myself I'd really appreciate just having the level of maintenance of things like roads, trash trucks and basic infrastructure to be as good as it was when we moved here 9 years ago and property taxes were about a third of what they are now. You've been gone now for several years, amigo, and I don't think you are aware of just how basic services have gone south in most of the municipio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericurmudgeon Posted January 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 5 hours ago, RVGRINGO said: Even having a road between Chapala and Ajijic is a rather new experience. Some folks still living at Lakeside can remember when there was no road, and one had to take a boat. In the longer historical view, a lot has been accomplished along the shores of Lake Chapala; explosive growth, really. Unfortunately, there are some recent arrivals who want to see everything “upgraded“ to their current fantasies in an instant, as “the end is near“ and they want what they want, and they want it NOW. Good luck. I am not quite sure what this comment has to do with my original post. I was merely lamenting the construction of that monstrosity of a "causeway" out to the statue. I actually think there have been some positive efforts made over the past few years but the "bridge" is not one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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