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Pueblo Magico mess


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We recently saw the Ajijic plaza project and what a mess!  And no surprise either.  We had a chance to try the new benches just before they were removed.  Badly placed, ugly, uncomfortable, and already breaking.  Again, no surprise.  The final project doesn't look like the rendering that was shown either.  No surprise.  And it is starting to sound like, just as I predicted, that there might not be a lovely patio for the Jardin restaurant and perhaps the coffee shop and bar might lose their plaza space as well.  Next would be the craft vendors on the Guadalupe Victoria walkway and the evening taco, hot dog, and tamal vendors.  Pretty much everything that makes the plaza "magic" could go away in the name of sterile Pueblo Magico" regulations.  Ajijic has never had portales or other architectural elements to make the plaza a commercially viable or person friendly space without using some of the plaza footprint.  That was why they decided years ago to close streets on two sides of the plaza.  It made the space a more user friendly destination.  What they have done now does the opposite.

There is soon to be a committee supposedly made up of locals to help direct future issues like buried utilities, increased car traffic, sidewalk repairs, street closures, wall painting, etc.  It would be good to know who those folks are and how input could be provided ahead of another mess of a project.  And maybe revisit the entire Pueblo Magico designation.

Alan

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Mazamitla and Tapalpa show what well run and cared for pueblo magicos can look like.  The cynic in me after 13 years believes the Chapala politicians, regardless of label all of them IMO, got Ajijic designated just as another means to milk the town while doing little for it.  The potholes proliferate and the trash piles up regardless of who sits in Chapala municipio hall.  On top of that their latest milking scheme on the Ajijic Plaza is just cheapening it and destroying the character like they did to the Chapala plaza.

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I wish I knew exactly how the money stream is working.  Does the Federal Govt. pay to the local government which then hires locals to do the projects?  Is it only state money that has been received from the the feds and the state hires the work done?  Who is deciding what this is going to look like in the end?  I know the entire Pueblo Magico program is now something different from what it was when Tapalpa was designated.  Is there different oversight now?  I just feel like whatever was decided was going to be spent to "improve" Ajijic is not what is actually being spent.  I have been asking since the start who was going to be responsible for sidewalk repairs when poles are removed.  Where are the extra cars going to park?  Who is going to pay for improvements and changes to utilities once they are buried under the streets?  How are CFE, Telmex, Wizz, etc going to access the infrastructure once it's buried and who pays for all that?  Has any thought been given to the local businesses that will be adversely affected by changes like increased traffic and less parking, street closures, infrastructure interruptions during changeovers, restrictions to access to the plaza for seating, etc?

Anyway, I'm hoping logic begins to play a major part in this mess but I'm afraid corrupt ineptitude will continue to prevail.  MC is correct...charm and character are losing out all over this area and Pueblo Magico status is not going to help.

Alan

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If El Jardine and other rest. bars, etc on the plaza are not allowed to use the space that they did occupy prior to construction the plaza will not be a place people would want to gather. The  Ajijic plaza has always been a real focal point in Ajijic.  The rest, bars, venders were always part of the plaza area draw. The old cast iron benches were great and maint. free, not to mention recycling them would be FREE! Don't get me started on Puebla  Magico. Lakeside streets in constant state of disrepair, years long garbage pick-up problems, broken sidewalks and property owners allowed to let their street side building fronts go to hell.  If some of Chapala's current rules are not working CHANGE THEM! Develop a plan, with resident input and implement It.

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56 minutes ago, Fred Habacht said:

Good thing that most future residents seldom read this site anymore or more of them would consider retiring somewhere else.

Can't figure out why you're still around.  But we have a lot more traffic than your favorite place, so that's one consolation.  Despite our best efforts, a few people here persist in injecting personal unpleasantness into the site and that is certainly a turnoff for newbies.  I know you can relate to that.  :D 

I think sites likes this are gradually being eclipsed by social media as well.

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12 hours ago, slainte39 said:

IMHO, it is the same chronic bitching about everything the government does locally.

Can´t you people ever see anything good in the evolution of events and enjoy what we have instead of being  constantly negative?

I don't think folks are getting their jollies by constantly complaining, but are simply frustrated by what actually happens instead of what could be. You can enjoy what we have, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be more...and then to see such half-assed efforts get awarded "Pueblo Magico" ...

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I am very skeptical of this "Pueblo Magico" shtick.  That was initially a good idea to help promote the many charming and quaint small towns around Mexico who could actually use a little promotion because they are already quite off the beaten track.  Not so with Ajijic, which is only a 1-2 hr. drive from the major metropolis of GDL with millions of people who are already quite aware that Ajijic and Lake Chapala exist.  they are down here every weekend!  IF the  local committee could come up with productive ways to use the $$$ that would benefit the whole town, not just the special interests, fine, good luck.

The Ajijic plaza is a sad mess after all that construction time and money.  The Ajijic Plaza used to be the true heart of the village before the malecon was built in 2008.  When I first came here 15 years ago, every night it would fill up with local people - the parents and grandparents sitting on the benches chatting, the teens and big kids walking around in a big circle eyeing each other, the little ones all running around happily playing.  No bad vibes or behavior.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven to see such natural harmony between all those people.  I used to get a nice ice cream bar and just take it all in, deciding to move here.

The coffee shop was a cyber place, the bar did not have outside tables for several more years.  Kids used to play in those spaces.  Maybe some of the villagers would like their space back.  There were no vendors in the corridor from Guad. Vic.  There used to be a nice fountain there that was unceremoniously ripped out in 2015 when Degollado came to power in chapala.  No one knew why, but it turned out his administration was planning to turn the plaza into a major (LOUD) entertainment center and thought the fountain would be in the way of bringing in huge and loud sound equipment.  Fortunately that did not pan out, but now we have no more fountain.

 

HPIM3549.JPG

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19 hours ago, Mainecoons said:

Unfortunately, we all have to drive through there.  But you don't have to visit Ajijic.  :D 

Sentence one......."say´s who???   Sentence two.......say´s who???

You have to drive through there ?....OK   I have business to do in Ajijic.....OK?  

Quit arguing like a 4 year old.   edit....I  forgot the free pass guy.....😀

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3 hours ago, slainte39 said:

Sentence one......."say´s who???   Sentence two.......say´s who???

You have to drive through there ?....OK   I have business to do in Ajijic.....OK?  

Quit arguing like a 4 year old.   edit....I  forgot the free pass guy.....😀

WHAAAAAAT? How's the vino tinto!!!

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6 hours ago, slainte39 said:

Sentence one......."say´s who???   Sentence two.......say´s who???

You have to drive through there ?....OK   I have business to do in Ajijic.....OK?  

Quit arguing like a 4 year old.   edit....I  forgot the free pass guy.....😀

I'm not sure a 4 year old could understand this post.  :D 

I do find it curious how much you like to complain about others complaining.  I'm a bit surprised that a long timer like you hasn't noticed the drastic decline in basic services like pot hole repair and street cleaning that has been observed and commented on by many others here.  Are you actually getting out these days?

 

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The construction and layout of Ajijic is too ugly to make it a Pueblo Magico in compasison to others that I have seen. 

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