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Experts consulted by this means agree that conceptually, Santo Domingo is an unsustainable city, since displacement implies a great economic, social and environmental loss. External source.
Thanks to a poorly structured public transport offer, intermodality, insufficient coverage, and road insecurity, mobility in Santo Domingo is currently inefficient and unsustainable since it is generating a negative impact in environmental terms.
The Dominican Republic, but especially the metropolitan area, presents the challenge of sustainable mobility, which implies the movement of people from one place to another in an efficient, fast, comfortable, safe, and environmentally responsible manner. It seeks “friendly” means of transport contributing to climate response, economic growth, and sustainable development.
What did I glimpse? The role of sustainable mobility is to reduce the environmental footprint by using more sustainable means of transport, whether collective or individual. “It is using the car less and modes such as public transport, walking, cycling, to get around. Otherwise, the second strategy is to use cleaner vehicles”, explained Juan Pablo Bocarejo, director of the Support for the Implementation of the Sustainable Mobility Plan of Greater Santo Domingo (Aipmus).
Currently, Santo Domingo offers alternative and environmentally friendly transportation, the Santo Domingo Metro, the Cable Car, electric vehicles, bicycles, OMSA buses, and transfers on foot.
Benefits
In general, terms, using sustainable means of transport constitutes an environmentally friendly city, which is interesting for other people to get to know (tourism) and, in addition, conceives citizens with less stress and anxiety; with a better quality of life, more productive and who enjoy what the environment offers.
Economic savings for users. Bocarejo said that, ideally, a bicycle or public transport user spends less money than a person can spend in their car daily and even more in terms of time.
An essential contribution to health. Reducing travel by motor vehicle contributes to lowering the mortality rate from lung cancer, respiratory diseases, or problems with children’s cognitive development, among other factors.
In addition, according to information from the Ministry of the Environment, the use of alternative transport means less oil exploitation, the creation of thousands of jobs, greener and more beautiful cities, and the promotion of central areas without the abusive presence of cars.
You have jammed the capital with streets, cables, and rails. What else do you want to jam in there? Helicopters too? Enough! Congestion, consumption, pollution, contamination, assaults & crimes & robberies, pandemics, illegal foreigners, etc.
Let the capital breathe! Let it be a city again and not a freaking filthy and mayhem market the way it is now! You can’t even walk around without stepping into a hole or avoid a motorcyclist or a block falling from a construction, etc. ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The government has to confine the amount of cars traveling in Santo Domingo. It has to make hard choices…. but needed choices, such as allowing cars to operate in certain city zones on even and odd numbered days according to plate (placas) numbers. Even plates are ok on even days and odd plates ok for odd days. Heavy fines for those who disregard the regulation. Also, limit the amount of cars per city household.
One thing the government can do to keep some traffic out of Santo Domingo is to improve Carreterra Mella from the Cemex plant in San Pedro de Macoris to its intersection with the Autopista Juan Pablo (Samana Hwy). At that point is is a short trip north to intersect with the Santo Domingo Circunnavegación for points west and northwest. Not having to travel through the narrow heavy traffic confines of Boca Chica or Las Americas near the airport.