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The previous restrictions provided that cars bearing license plates that ended in numbers 0 and 1 could not operate in the area inside the circumnavigation on Mondays. Numbers 2 and 3 were excluded on Tuesdays, and so on. The objective, which was successfully met, was to reduce traffic congestion.
The Sala IV overturned these prohibitions because they were the result of an executive decree. For the moment, the restrictions are off, but they are expected to be reinstated in a more legal manner.
Actually the restrictions were reinstituted and will be in effect again as of tomorrow – 20th July 2009.
Please see 120 tráficos vigilarán ingreso de autos a la capital at [ http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2009/julio/20/pais2032093.html ]
The current fine for not complying with this is 5,000 colones which is a little less than $10 but after the 23rd of September that fine increases to 34,700 colones which is about $60 and a BIG chunk of change for the average Tico.
I think this is a sensible measure to try and control traffic flow but brutal for small businessmen reliant on daily road transport and delivery guys who are forced to NOT work for one day each week. These people should be given discounts or exemptions.
And what about the unknowing tourist in his rental car?
Driving into many major cities entails a “congestion charge” but there are normally exemptions like:
Resident’s vehicles
Vehicles which use alternative fuel
Electrically propelled vehicles
Vehicles with nine or more seats
Recovery vehicles
Accredited breakdown and recovery vehicles
Two wheeled motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles
Emergency Service vehicles – e.g. ambulances / fire engines
Vehicles used by the disabled
Public transport vehicles with nine or more seats.As far as I know, there are no discounts or exemptions applicable in San Jose but that may be coming …
In London for example, there are no toll booths to collect this charge, it’s all on camera [ http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/6718.aspx ]
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comWhy don’t they implement more mass transit and look at making the current road system more efficient, like any other big city would do. Telling people they can’t drive on certain days is probably one of the most idiotic ideas i have ever heard.
Actually, many cities restrict traffic, especially commercial traffic, at least during certain hours.
Restricting vehicular traffic on any given weekday to 80% of the maximum potential traffic load makes a very great deal of sense. It alleviates the congestion problem immediately at virtually no more cost than the investment in signage to get the word out. Compared to the cost of widening arterial roads, digging tunnels for subways or erecting overhead elevated train infrastructure, etc, restricting traffic is a clear winner when cost is taken into account. For a country without large public resources to devote, retricting traffic is a virtual freebie. Whether it has any measurable negative impact is not at all clear.
I think it will be clear. Plus the government will make money on the fines from people that cant afford them. I suppose some people like to be restricted in their everyday travels.
Reducing traffic congestion by some twenty percent hardly qualifies as a restriction in travel. In the time that the previous restrictions were in force, the alleviation of congestion was very, very noticeable. And the effect was immediate, not some time in the future.
The reduction in congestion, too, has beneficial environmental implications. Fewer cars operating in congested areas means less pollution by a factor greater than you might first expect. Less time spend idling, burning fuel and creating emissions but not actually going forward, results in a generally cleaner atmosphere with its own implications for health.
No one has suggested that this is a perfect resolution to the problem. No approach would be. But it´s the only solution readily at hand so we might as well learn to live with it.
BTW, does anyone know exactly which license plate-ending numbers are excluded on which days?
The restrictions were:
Monday 0,1
Tuesday 2,3
Wednesday 4,5
Thursday 6,7
Friday 8,9I expect it will be the same this time. But I could be all wrong! Or maybe I had it wrong the last time?
Edited on Jul 27, 2009 00:21
Okay, so now we have two answers about which licenses are excluded on which days.
Does anyone know “fer shure, fer shure”?
According to Ch.7 news the new restrictions are….
Mon.0/1
Tue.2/3
etc….different from before “quien sabe porque”
Here’s a sign in San Jose showing the new restrictions. Picture taken July 10
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CRC_Traffic_Restriction_Sign_07_2009_6307.jpg
It states between the hours of 06:00 and 19:00
the restrictions are:
Lunes (Monday) 1 y 2
Martes (Tuesday) 3 y 4
Miercoles (Wednesday) 5 y 6
Jueves (Thursday) 7 y 8
Viernes (Friday) 9 y 0The restrictions are effective within the ring created by routes108, 100 and 39 circle.
Here is an extract from “Insidecostarica.com” on July 20th:
“Transport officials reacted quickly to draft a new decree and put it in place in only 5 weeks, something of a record in Costa Rica.
The new decree, which may be subject to another Constitutional Court challenge, is basically the same as the decree struck down, but with a different fil number.
The decree restricts the circulation of vehicles with a license plate ending 1 & 2 on Mondays; 3 & 4 on Tuesdays; 5 & 6 on Wedensdays; 7 & 8 Thursdays; and, 9 & 0 Fridays.
The hours of the restriction are from 6am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, save legal holidays and cover the area bordered by the Circunvalacion on the west, south and east and Calle Blancos and La Uruca on the north.
The fine for violating the restrictions is ¢5.000 colones, for now. On September 23, when the full effect of the new Ley de Transito begins, the fine jumps to ¢34.700.”
So there you go… hope this clears it up for you.
Brian (enduro)
Edited on Jul 26, 2009 11:20
Kimball – Slippery slope? Yeah, and if South Vietnam falls, all of Asia will fall. I don’t go for that domino theory anymore.
Obviously you’re right though – it is a “restriction in travel”, despite what David said. However, the infrastructure requirements to solve the situation are way beyond the reach of the government coffers (as David correctly noted), and anyone that drove in San Jose before and after the implementation of the law will tell you that the difference was huge. The fact is that without it, San Jose is totally gridlocked for several hours each day, and nobody can get anywhere, except the curriers. I totally agree with David that the negative economic and environmental impact of these extraordinary traffic jams, not to mention the inconvenience (oops, I guess I just did…), greatly outweighs the relatively small problem of finding another way into town once a week.
I’m not sure what the Vietnam war has to do with this topic, but I find it hard to believe that new road infrastructure is way beyond the reach of the CR government. There is always a way to fund well needed roads. Specially in a rapidly growing city. Fact of the matter is, they should have been thinking about this many years ago. You can always fund the new roads with tolls, and have the Chinese build them.
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