More signs, closer monitoring for Tijuana's El Chaparral crossing - Friday's southbound traffic a key test
From The San Diego Union Tribune
By Sandra Dibble
TIJUANA - "Eight days after the opening of the new El Chaparral crossing, Mexican authorities are planning to to closely monitor Friday's wait times
for cars traveling from San Diego to Tijuana.
Luis Torres, the federal customs administrator in Tijuana, said the start of the U.S. Veterans' Day weekend will be an important test of El Chaparral,
which opened Nov. 1 west of the old southbound lanes at Puerta Mexico. Friday afternoon and evening are typically the busiest times of the week for
southbound crossings from Tijuana to San Diego.
President Felipe Calderón's administration has pledged that the new facility will reduce southbound wait times, but concerns were raised last Friday,
when drivers reported waits of close to two hours to cross.
At a news conference Thursday, authorities said that they had determined the cause of the backup: traffic tie-ups in Tijuana along Avenida
Internacional as families flocked to cemeteries in the area for Mexico's Day of the Dead.
"There was a domino effect that reached all the way to El Chaparral," Torres said. "It wasn't until later that we realized the problem was with the
cemeteries."
To avert similar incidents in the future, Torres said that Mexican federal, state and local authorities have established a protocol that would allow
them to quickly alleviate traffic delays on city streets affecting El Chaparral.
The Baja California government is also preparing to install new signs, said Carlos López, a state infrastructure planner. In the next two weeks, 15
new giant signs will help guide drivers to different destinations, including the Tijuana airport and nearby beach communities.
The new measures come as Baja California prepares for Wednesday's launch from Ensenada of the Baja 1000 off-road race, which brings large numbers of
U.S. visitors to Baja California, said Juan Tintos, the state's tourism secretary."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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