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A future with two wheels

2019-10-05T02:56:17.730Z


[OPINION] Jesús D'Alessandro: Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities, and almost all cities are designed for cars, not for people. There is no doubt that l ...


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(Credit: Healthy Cities Alliance)

Editor's note: Jesús D'Alessandro is director of the Strategic Plan of Santo Domingo, one of the 54 cities in the Alliance of Healthy Cities , a global network sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies in collaboration with the World Health Organization and Vital Strategies.

(CNN Spanish) - There is no doubt that bicycles begin to be and will be even more a culturally attractive, affordable, sustainable and healthy transportation option for our community of citizens. An option that democratizes access on two wheels and helps improve the experience.

The Colonial City of Santo Domingo, the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere, offers tourists a series of places that are more than 500 years old. Among many firstfruits, you can find the oldest European military installation and the cathedral in America: The Fortress of Santo Domingo (or Ozama) and the Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Encarnación respectively.

However, throughout this colorful neighborhood of old buildings, tourists can also glimpse a bit of our future, as the new rental bicycles of local entrepreneurs increasingly dominate the urban landscape. Different from how things have worked in recent decades, now bicycle tours take visitors to cultural destinations and trendy places in this enigmatic heart of Santo Domingo. It is a fact that even in our neighborhood of greatest historical value, the bicycle is ready to occupy a central place.

Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities, and almost all cities are designed for cars, not for people. Santo Domingo is no different, we have registered approximately one motor vehicle for each inhabitant. This is due in part to the fact that public transport options are still quite limited. This urban system is the most developed in the Dominican Republic, with approximately one third of the country's population living in its metropolitan region. It is estimated that almost half of the country's GDP is generated within the region, and that the National District is the largest workplace in the country.

As anywhere else, if Santo Domingo achieves less congested streets, with drivers traveling at moderate speed, we will see fewer traffic deaths. But the number of cars in the city continues to grow. In five years, the city is expected to add more than a quarter of a million cars to the streets.

Worldwide, car accidents are one of the leading causes of death, with 1.35 million deaths each year. In the Western Hemisphere, the Dominican Republic occupies second place after Saint Lucia in the number of fatalities per 100,000 people (34.6), with pedestrians and cyclists representing 18% of all deaths from traffic accidents. To date, the main group that uses bicycles as a means of daily transport are men between 31 and 40 years old [1]. Most of these people live in high-density deprived sectors, where motorized transport services are less accessible.

Cars also contribute 20% of the city's carbon dioxide emissions. Stimulating the use of the bicycle as an alternative we seek to address the environmental impact of these gases, while we seek to make our streets safer and healthier for pedestrians. Reviewing the work of the last three years of municipal government, it has become clear that we must find other forms of transportation and Colonial City is a starting point from which we continue to learn.

Following our agenda to democratize access to the city, we trace bicycle lanes on the Malecon of Santo Domingo in 2017, within the framework of its integral remodeling. And from that moment we could all see how communities use these lanes organically, people of all backgrounds make daily tours in front of the Dominican Caribbean. In parallel, the various public actors that influence urban mobility together with the municipal government are studying a permanent low-speed solution for motorized vehicles that travel along the road. This to reinforce the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, and facilitate the connection of this bike route with other axes of the city.

Restrictions on the hours when heavy vehicles can use certain areas also play an important role in making our streets safer. More than a year ago we managed with the carriers, industries and law enforcement agencies, to agree on a schedule for the transit of these vehicles in an important section of the Malecon. This has allowed us to learn valuable lessons on how to expand this climate of social contract for the good of the entire population in a sustainable way.

By working with the STRAVA mobile phone application, we have discovered other routes and intersections that cyclists are already using for exercise and recreation, and, less frequently, to reach work destinations daily. This diagnosis has triggered the beginning of agreed plans for short-term pilot projects in specific sections and points. Same plans that include speed disincentive and reengineering of road signs.

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-10-05

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