The city of La Paz now has more registered vehicles than residents, according to data presented by municipal authorities during the weekly press conference led by Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero.
The city council personnel reported that there are currently around 329,660 registered vehicles in the capital of Baja California Sur, including motorcycles, cars, and pickup trucks, while the population is approximately 300,000. This figure was provided during the results presentation from the Road Monitoring Center (CEMOVIAL) along with the actions implemented to reduce travel times on the most congested roads.
During the presentation, the director of Mobility and Transportation of the La Paz City Council, Francisco Ramírez, explained that the increase in cars has altered daily traffic on main avenues such as Forjadores de Sudcalifornia, where there is now a higher flow than there was three years ago.
Ramírez indicated that there is increased traffic on the roads connecting the southern part of the city with the rest of the city. He explained that one of the most congested areas is the access to neighborhoods such as Diana Laura, Miramar, Santa Fe, and Camino Real. He added that vehicle monitoring registers around 4,500 vehicles during peak hours for work and school.
According to information presented by the City Council, the Road Monitoring Center system currently operates with 30 signalized intersections, surveillance cameras, vehicle presence sensors, and measuring equipment installed at various points throughout the city. Authorities stated that these tools allow for adjusting wait times and recording traffic patterns in real time.
Francisco Ramirez also explained that the increase in vehicles is also related to residential expansion in the southern part of the city, where new settlements and housing developments have been built in recent years. He indicated that the increase in vehicles requires the creation of alternate routes to prevent all traffic from depending on a single road.
At the same meeting, it was reported that commutes from Camino Real to downtown La Paz have decreased from an average of one hour and 16 minutes to 35 minutes following the implementation of the CEMOVIAL system.
Furthermore, the City Council stated that work continues on the Bahía Concepción urban loop and other alternative roads to connect southern neighborhoods with the Los Planes highway and Forjadores Boulevard.
