The Question on Everyone's Mind: Will it Alleviate the Chaotic Traffic? October 1, 2007
Panama City, Panama 
The new coastal belt will begin just before the Paitilla neighborhood and will parallel the existing Balboa Avenue to where it ends in La Central, just before the Casco Viejo or "old city."
The new road everyone is talking about-the soon-to-be-built cinta costera (coastal belt)-is still the subject of some controversy. Construction is set to begin within the next few weeks, but not everyone agrees that the cinta will solve the chaotic traffic on Panama City's busy Balboa Avenue. The project consists of a four-lane road to be built on landfill in the Bay of Panama, paralleling a stretch of the existing Balboa Avenue. Balboa Avenue will be converted into a one-way street, with all six existing lanes running toward the Avenue's end at the entrance to La Central (near the Casco Viejo, or old city entrance). Engineer Ulises Lay says he has studied the new road's design and that it won't solve the traffic problem. He admits that getting from Paitilla to the Casco Viejo during business hours will take less than a quarter of the time it currently takes (say, four minutes instead of 20…on a good day). However, he adds, none of the avenues intersecting the new road are being expanded. This means bottlenecks will form at cinta costera exit points-especially in already crowded Punta Paitilla, where the toll road known as the Corredor Sur ends, and in National Assembly area (at the Plaza Cinco de Mayo), near where Balboa Avenue ends at La Central. Architect Rodrigo Mejia-Andrion is slightly more optimistic-he believes the project will alleviate traffic for a while, but says this is not a long-term solution. Mejia-Andrion says that there are just too many cars in Panama City and not enough road to accommodate them. Many agree that with better public transportation, less people would have to drive and traffic would improve.
Architect Alvaro Uribe says that the project doesn't follow current urban planning trends. It includes two new overpasses that will mar the city's appearance, he says, adding that many cities the world over are getting rid of "ugly" overpasses. Uribe says that with a better public transit system, capitalinos (residents of the capital city) would be able to enjoy the new cinta costera without having to use their cars. There would be fewer cars on the road and perhaps the overpasses wouldn't be necessary. The government is working on what some say will be the most radical change to the transit system in at least 50 years, but has yet to come up with a proposal that is acceptable to both the transportation unions and transportation users. Several designs for a road paralleling Balboa Avenue have been presented to the government over the years, starting in 1994. Interest groups such as Alianza Pro Ciudad (the Pro-City Alliance, or APC) have lobbied against the designs, stating that they seek to ease traffic but do not take into account the needs and rights of pedestrians. The final approved design, according to APC, takes into account the organization's request that it be more pedestrian friendly. This because the cinta's 61 acres of landfill will encompass some 49 acres of "green areas," with parks, monuments, and a bicycle lane. There will be no commercial areas or buildings of any type, despite previous proposals to the contrary. Construction of the cinta costera is set to begin this October by Odebrecht-CUSA (formed by companies Constructora Norberto Odebrecht and Constructora Urbana S.A., which joined together to present the winning proposal) and will cost over $189 million. Work is expected to finish by April 2009. Best Regards, Jessica Ramesch
Editor, Panama Insider
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