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Vote on makeover for Ajijic highway zone Sunday August 27


sm1mex

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18 hours ago, Islander said:

I would go even further. Get rid of all the shabby buildings, build a 4 lane line road, line it with attractive trees, street lights , put a bike path along the side behind the trees. Forget the stores. Provide a space for strip mall for small businesses on the west of Ajijic or libramiento  with parking lot. The way this area is growing it will need a better flow of the traffic very soon. The resent proposals are just a Mickey mouse alternatives and waste of money. It will not do much (a little band aid for bikers) and will create a chaos for years to come. Think bold . :rolleyes: Where the money will come from to do this??? I do not know.....make a suggestion.

And we're right back in the suburban nightmare that we fled from.One of the reasons that we are in Mexico is the freedom of action that we have here that has been eroded in the States. People still live and work in their neighborhoods giving services to their neighbors. Forget the stores?? These are no faceless corporations that can easily relocate, but living, breathing human beings that create jobs for themselves and their employees and give goods and services to the community. We have really lost our way if we value the sterile cleanliness of the pseudo middle class over the human values of relationships and services...

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45 minutes ago, barcelonaman said:

All this anguish over a bike lane ?

No, just folks discussing a project with significant implications for Ajijic and expressing their opinions.

Personally speaking and with my engineer hat on, I think the concept is a reasonable compromise that preserves the businesses, completes a bike lane network that is probably more used by our Mexican neighbors than us, and opens things up a bit at minimal cost and disruption once the construction is finished.  

It most decidedly will not solve the car congestion problem, that is here to stay I think.  Sometimes the only way to cut down on car traffic is to make the passage so painful they figure out other ways to get around.  Unfortunately as I noted earlier, the buses are also stuck in the bottleneck.

My biggest concerns are safety of the bike lane and whether the execution of this project will be as badly flawed as that "bridge to Jesus" boondoggle in Chapala.  I don't have a lot of confidence in this government to complete this project honestly and competently.  

Since a recall effort has been filed against them by the Mexican community here, maybe they will be on their best behavior and it will turn out OK.  Here's hoping.

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I agree that these family-owned small businesses on the carretera are more important than 4 lanes of asphalt.  I like that the plan offers better sidewalks.  I live, walk and shop in centro and hope to further explore the north side of the carretera  when the sidewalks are improved.   

I lived here when the malecon project started in Ajijic.  There were lots of naysayers then....the park would be destroyed, the malecon would crumble during rainy season, etc.  And there it is, absolutely beautiful and well-maintained by workers on a daily basis.  Yes the wooden bridges over the culverts and the wooden bench seats were poor choices, but overall a delightful park and malecon.  Every evening there are local families enjoying it, out for a stroll, a picnic, kids on swings, etc.  

Maybe some of the current naysayers will be surprised by the revisions to the sidewalks and bike lane.  Ya never know. 

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Bisbee, pretty much the only maintenance on the Ajijic Malecon is minimal for the gardens now.  The bridges are rotting and holes are appearing, they are rapidly becoming hazardous.  The wooden benches are in very poor repair, many broken and all needing to be varnished.  Both are becoming hazardous to the users.

The walls along the walkway all need painting.  The palapa is in tatters.  And of course the graffiti magnet called the skate park is covered and most of the graffiti on our Malecon occurs around it, as predicted.  Because I'm down there regularly on graffiti patrol I have watched this decay and lack of maintenance accelerate over the last couple of years.

Visit the Chapala malecon and compare what you see there with the state of repair on the Ajijic malecon.  Your eyes will not lie to you.

 

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13 hours ago, Ajijic_hiker said:

If the pot holes in front of the church on Marcos Castellanos can't even get repaired...or the sidewalk in front of Guadalajara Pharmacy...why would anyone think for a Mexican minute that a 'new bike lane' is going to appear along the carretera...?...?

I'm with you on this one. Between Chapala and the municipality of Jocotepec, the roads, highways and neighbourhoods, and associated infrastructure, are a crumbling mess. But it is not out-of-character for the current and preceding governments to put their money (and loans) into big-eyed, highly-visible projects that help no one. Take the statue of the Fisherman in Chapala by the malecon. Completely un-needed, and expensive, at a time when money was not readily available. And no thought went into changes in the level of the lake. They built the thing using barges. THEN they got the idea of putting in a bridge; kind of backwards. And an expensive bridge it is. A complete boondoggle from beginning to end.

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13 hours ago, Ajijic_hiker said:

If the pot holes in front of the church on Marcos Castellanos can't even get repaired...or the sidewalk in front of Guadalajara Pharmacy...why would anyone think for a Mexican minute that a 'new bike lane' is go ing to appear along the carretera...?...?

Isn't that sidewalk private property? The lateral is government owned, not the parking lot in front of those stores.

 

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CG, that bridge is not only a boondoggle but an eyesore.  It is so ugly and shoddy it needs to be torn down.

In fairness to the last administration, they inherited a pretty much looted government with its debt tripled, bank accounts emptied and even the computers and furniture "disappeared."  

Even at that they somehow managed to at least pick up the trash and pay down some of the debt run up by that administration, headed by the brother of the current Presidente.  I felt really sorry for Sr. Huerta, he stepped into a real mess.  And made some serious mistakes of his own, like permitting those raves in Ajijic.

I suspect few expats know the Mexican community has mounted a recall effort against the current government.  They have filed the requisite number of signatures, all from Mexican citizens and registered voters, and these are in the process of being validated.

https://chapalanoticias.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/revocacion-de-mandato-de-javier-degollado-avanza-pasa-la-prueba-del-iepc/

The potholes, the decay of the Ajijic Malecon, the continued failure to properly manage solid waste, the showboat projects turned sour like the Bridge to Jesus are all symptoms of the real underlying problem.  I am heartened that the local Mexican community has gotten fed up with it and is trying to do something about it.  It seems they see the reality even if some expats remain clueless despite what is in front of their eyes.

 

 

 

 

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The Mexican community in Ajijic did not vote on Sunday because they were not notified that is when it was happening.  Remember the date was changed.  Most of the Mexicans that did vote were PRI.  They were the people putting up and running the polling  place..

The administration made themselves look like they were running an open election for the community with  secret ballots.  Neither was true.  Even the meetings at LCS were only open to some members but the foreign community as a whole got their info from The Gr.

With the new election law this presidente can run for a second term and plans to.

 

 

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As far as I know from everything I've seen, heard and read, over the last 15 years the only difference in Chapala government's is that each has been a bit greedier than the preceeding. Massive loans are received, and when the seat changes hands each election, the determination of who owes what to whom goes all to hell. I think what is more telling, is the habit of hiring family members in each admin to handle huge, unnecessary contracts, and giving government jobs to others... patronage to the nth degree.

Finally, at the end of an administration, every last peso in the budget is absconded with, leaving no choice for the new admin but to start the cycle over again. And depending on how unscrupulous the new gang is, this continues to add to the financial collapse. Add that to these, as you call them "showboat" projects to solidify each Presidente's "legacy", and wow, look out.

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1 hour ago, Mainecoons said:

CG, that bridge is not only a boondoggle but an eyesore.  It is so ugly and shoddy it needs to be torn down.

In fairness to the last administration, they inherited a pretty much looted government with its debt tripled, bank accounts emptied and even the computers and furniture "disappeared."  

Even at that they somehow managed to at least pick up the trash and pay down some of the debt run up by that administration, headed by the brother of the current Presidente.  I felt really sorry for Sr. Huerta, he stepped into a real mess.  And made some serious mistakes of his own, like permitting those raves in Ajijic.

I suspect few expats know the Mexican community has mounted a recall effort against the current government.  They have filed the requisite number of signatures, all from Mexican citizens and registered voters, and these are in the process of being validated.

https://chapalanoticias.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/revocacion-de-mandato-de-javier-degollado-avanza-pasa-la-prueba-del-iepc/

The potholes, the decay of the Ajijic Malecon, the continued failure to properly manage solid waste, the showboat projects turned sour like the Bridge to Jesus are all symptoms of the real underlying problem.  I am heartened that the local Mexican community has gotten fed up with it and is trying to do something about it.  It seems they see the reality even if some expats remain clueless despite what is in front of their eyes.

 

 

 

 

Governments since 2002+/- PAN,PRI, PAN, PAN and present PRI/GREEN. SO the truth is Joachin Huerta,PAN inherited what Chuy Cabrera PAN left him[8 pesos in the muni bank account] and he in turn nuked a play area for children on the Chapala Malecon which the feds PAN gave him the funds to build a theater area that nobody uses. Every weekend hundreds of Mexicans use the bridge.

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10 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

Of course they use the bridge. It's there. What else are they going to do? If there was no statue, they wouldn't be walking the malecon thinking "Gee, I wish there was a statue and bridge to get to it..."

So they do what they were meant to do,attract tourists.

 

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2 hours ago, ned small said:

So they do what they were meant to do,attract tourists.

I am not arguing that. I am arguing that it was a waste of money. A complete waste of money. Money that, like so many other unnecessary projects, could have gone into repairing the infrastructure. We have had more than enough tourist attractions in these towns for years. We don't need any new ones built at the expense of the well-being of the citizens who actually LIVE here.

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2 hours ago, betty7 said:

i can never understand why this is a tourist attraction?  people go where they are told to go. they will sit in traffic for hours. then they will walk around. maybe wait on line to get into a restaurant. then get back in the car & sit in traffic for another few hours. the hotter it is outside the more they like it. its magic.

 

Really...If My family was stuck in  Guadalajara all week, I think a break in Chapala would be great. Water, sand nice malecon and plenty of places to eat etc., and depending on the time you travel relatively easy driving , or use the  bus

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19 minutes ago, lakeside7 said:

Really...If My family was stuck in  Guadalajara all week, I think a break in Chapala would be great. Water, sand nice malecon and plenty of places to eat etc., and depending on the time you travel relatively easy driving , or use the  bus

I hear they really like the green space, clean air (compared to Guadalajara), and tranquility of the Lake. Daytrippers. Friendliness of the locals is also a surprise to sophisticated urban dwellers. They don't have to deal with angry, bitter expats - because those types seldom speak any Spanish. These expats just give off a thundercloud of hate rolling around above their heads. Mexicans just shake their heads, smile and walk away. Que lastima they say.

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I had a special beach back in Ontario, and every summer the town would fill up with tourists.... bringing both anger on behalf of the residents who couldn't bear the attitude of the garbage-tossing tourists and the unbelievable traffic, and joy at the sound of the cash registers ringing once again. I felt for them... but not enough to ruin my vaycay.

I don't think anybody here is suggesting that lakeside is not a fabulous place to tourist in. I would love it here as a tourist or a tapatio visitor. For all the reasons pointed out earlier. That, however, does not enter into the discussion of wasteful spending.

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19 minutes ago, CHILLIN said:

I hear they really like the green space, clean air (compared to Guadalajara), and tranquility of the Lake. Daytrippers. Friendliness of the locals is also a surprise to sophisticated urban dwellers. They don't have to deal with angry, bitter expats - because those types seldom speak any Spanish. These expats just give off a thundercloud of hate rolling around above their heads. Mexicans just shake their heads, smile and walk away. Que lastima they say.

Where are you getting that "thundercloud of hate" coming from expats?  What I see on the streets is expats greeting Mexicans with "Buenas Dias" as they pass one another, for the most part.  That may be all the Spanish they know, but the thought's what counts.

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