Traffic jams and chaos stress population; there is deterioration

National Territory, DR – In the Dominican Republic, the indicators that show deterioration of mental health have skyrocketed; one of them, traffic congestion, raises these stressors.

Dr. José Miguel Gómez Montero, psychiatrist and writer, analyzed the topic.

“This is a society trapped with a culture of high dangerousness, citizen insecurity, noise and blockage,” said the specialist, explaining that society is macro-stressed and, consequently, mental health indicators are skyrocketing.

Next, he specified: “The streets of the largest cities in the country are crowded with vehicles of various modalities, cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles and scooters. It can be reviewed in any demarcation of the Dominican Republic.”

He referred to the blackouts as an indicator of deterioration in the quality of public services and said that there is a deficit in public and environmental policies aimed at improving people’s quality of life.

The proposal

“The proposal is that the mayors’ offices continue to organize the parks, that the traffic lights work, and that, in Santo Domingo, the transit of high-cylinder trucks is prohibited on the boardwalk,” the doctor and writer said.

The doctor believes that more recreational areas should be built in cities and that the Government should make a greater effort to improve the electricity system. “People get irritated by the heat due to the lack of electricity, which prevents them from sleeping well. Likewise, everything is complicated in large cities with road blockages.”

Noise is highly harmful to mental health, said the professional, specifying that people occupy the sidewalks and that the authorities do not take measures.

He referred to those who use public roads to make sales or wash their windows, an action added to the plugs at intersections.

“It is necessary to develop efficient social policies, which restore peace, tranquility and harmony to the population,” said the doctor.

He said that improving mental health indicators and creating a safer, more spiritual, and comfortable city are necessary. He said that all this was planned.

The reality

In the Dominican Republic, the plugs manifest themselves at any time of the day. A blockage can last for a prolonged period, and people become desperate.

The situation has become complicated with the opening of the school year, which means that tutors take to the streets from the early hours of the morning.

For the public road to be blocked, 10 minutes is enough; it can cost an hour.

Dominicans have experienced anxiety, stress, and a deterioration of mental health in recent years. It would be necessary to expand and adapt important points of the Juan Pablo Duarte highway and the construction of the marginal Los Alcarrizos. Both projects are underway and have been established in traffic studies.

Bus corridors on central routes are initiatives that have a favorable impact.