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Former Lima mayor blames Luis Castañeda for traffic chaos

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

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Former mayor of Lima, Alberto Andrade

© ANDINA

Alberto Andrade, the former mayor of Lima blamed Luis Castañeda Lossio for the chaotic traffic in the country's capital city.

Andrade affirmed that Castañeda had not planned and coordinated with the mayors of other districts to make sure that residents, citizens and motorists were not affected by roadwork.

"This has to do with a lack of planning, it's when you do things quickly and just to do them, without any type of planning, (that's why) Limeans are suffering when going from one place to another," said the former mayor.

In a radio interview with RPP News, he stated that people were wasting valuable time sitting in traffic and assured that millions of soles were being lost in man hours.

Unfortunately, the mayor of Lima is not fulfilling his role as the leader of the other districts, said Andrade, explaining that Castañeda had not held a Metropolitan Mayors Assembly to bring district leaders together.

Furthermore, the former mayor stated the mayor of Lima was not solving important issues such as student protests and riots taking place at the University of San Marcos.

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# Mr. Pesimismo says :
19 July, 2008 [ 08:01 ]

Yea, yea, yea....and trafic was a snap, Mr. Andrade, during your administrations.  The truth is NOBODY has the political courage to take on the transportation gremios (read: M-A-F-I-A) that control (and choke) the streets of Lima.  NOBODY has the political courage to stop the importation of the PoS cars coming in via Tacna.  NOBODY has the political courage to limit the number of taxis circulating in Lima's streets. 

# mericorps says :
19 July, 2008 [ 08:38 ]

Well said Mr. Psimismo!

# Daniel says :
19 July, 2008 [ 10:39 ]

why don't they get it??!!  Organized MASS TRANSIT!!    Lima is a windless, foggy city to begin with, and with all the SMOG so many cars generate, the air quality is probably pretty bad.   the Buildings are so gray, I remember Tacna Ave in the Cercado to be a festering soup of toxic fumes...  

And all those empty informal taxis also generate so much chaos.   Forget about the Combis...  Add to that the way people drive in this city!!!!   No wonder it's an infernal mess!

And now they're talking about bringing even more cars from China.   WHY??

# Peter says :
19 July, 2008 [ 23:48 ]

Very old saying..." If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail." No quick-fix plan will solve Lima's bad traffic congestion or bad driving habits. New pollution control plans/regulations by the Government and upgrading of old motors etc etc will go some way to assist...but this will also have financial consequences for those whose living depends on transportation. Difficult one to call....but , maybe, poco a poco, things will evolve a better solution if Peru can learn from other models in other polluted countries. Let us pray !
Peter.

# Fernando says :
20 July, 2008 [ 08:41 ]

Things ar already getting better.
Whats wrong with buying cars from china?
What if I want to buy a car from Russia or Turkmenistan - whats your problem with it? Oh ofcourse - they dont consume stupid ammounts of petrol like U.S. made cars - hmm- thats bad is'nt it?
Peru is getting better on all fronts, so dont stress. Peru's streets are much cleaner than they were ten years ago - hard to believe, but things are improving all the time.

# Peter says :
20 July, 2008 [ 16:12 ]

From what I read about the cars from China & Japan in Peru News some time ago, they are exporting their older, more polluting cars as they don't want them over there....your sarcasm seems to have some flaws, similar to these cars that you mention.
By the way, F, it's not the amount of petrol they consume, it's the way they "burn" it and exhaust more heavy pollution. It is good to read that you believe that Peru is improving all the time, Peruanas deserve that, eh?! Still praying !
Peter.

# Teresa says :
20 July, 2008 [ 19:49 ]

By mass transit do you mean buses or trains, as well?  Would a subway or elevated train every be feasible in a city like Lima?  I know more rail lines would alleviate a lot of congestion in the city where I live, but most people prefer more highways so they can drive their cars! 

# Mari says :
21 July, 2008 [ 22:45 ]

Congratulations to Mayor Castaneda, he is making good improvements in Lima city, not like other mayors before, they just danced the valsecito and did not do a thing, for the caotic Lima.

# Peter says :
22 July, 2008 [ 07:28 ]

Hey Mari, I humbly suggest that you read the news article again...to have smoother traffic flow, the main aterials need to be co-ordinated from one district to another,thus attempting to avoid bottle necks in less co-ordinated,adjoining districts receiving traffic from faster flowing district's principle avenues...thus the need to liase with other mayors in the planning phase of traffic .Thus my original comment..."if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Continuing to pray !! :-)  Arequipa Avenue continues to be a car park in peak hour :-(
Saludos,
Peter