The City government intends to advance with the project to create an eight-square corridor on the side hand of Honorio Pueyrredón Avenue between the Cid Campeador and the Neuquén street, after approval in the Legislature of an initiative that converts the zone into question into a “calle of coexistence”.
Although what happened on Thursday, July 14th, was only the creation of a transit standard, all in the enclosure knew that what was really under discussion was the possibility of lifting the judicial suspension that weighs on the work and proceeding with the realization of an unconsulted green space and against the neighbors of Cavalito and Villa Crespo. This is evident because the restrictions on transit will be applied as the squares are authorized by a transitional clause.
So, how can a park be allowed without anyone explicitly speaking of it, do not know how it will look in its final form or the impact it will have? In the face of this situation, the neighbors had initiated a judicial claim, which ended with a precautionary measure, which paralyzed the topadores for months. According to the judge, the government could not build on a boulevard without a law that changes use, so he asked this matter to be dealt with in the legislature. In this sense, Mr Martín Ocampo stated that with the new regulation they would repair this error and remain important to the illegality and illegitimity of the project by comparing the GCBA with a “lord to do and [by ende] is wrong”.
Horacio Rodríguez Larreta began the work in early 2022, illegally and, since it was arrested, sought alternative paths to advance unilaterally, denying neighbors who claimed a dialogue table. In her speech during the ordinary session, Mrs Claudia Neira pointed that out. “This is not about you in the park or not in the park. We must order the debate. And if we are discussing a park, then we cannot be discussing a traffic norm.”
The officialism trusts that, from the approval of the “calle of coexistence”, everything will already be solved. The truth is that the judge should still reject the injunction, after assessing whether the conditions are given. A key point in its failure was the lack of citizen participation and information of society in relation to the project.
The neighbors held a demonstration the day before the vote of this law asking the legislators to vote against and feel to discuss how to improve the quality of life of the neighbors of Horse. They had already met with legislators to reject the initiative, and had asked them concrete overcoming proposals.
First, they asked for transparency and democracy. According to them, they felt deceived by the PRO’s attitude of giving them back and designing the final project among few people.
Secondly, they considered that the need for parks in the city was not going out with works like these, because they are only 10 meters wide and surrounded by cars, collectives, ambulances and frentistas. Can anyone state that the 400 million pesos invested in this work will not be in vain and will simply be a decorative green space?
In addition, far from evaporating, neighbors fear that all traffic deviates from the alleyways and causes a breakdown of vehicles. If this happens, the quality of life of the people residing in Rojas or Hidalgo will not fail. In addition, director-general Planning, Use and Evaluation, Dino Nicolás Buzzi, said during the Traffic and Transportation Commission, that “the opportunity to continue doing parks is on the streets”. This way, this corridor is just the tip of the Iceberg. But this analysis of the employee seems sesgado, because it is impossible to ignore that the GCBA allowed more than 500 public hectares to pass to the hands of private individuals over the past 10 years.
Isolda Balsamello, neighbor of Cavalito who resides in Hidalgo, is already troubled by noise. “There is time since at peak hours the street collapses and there is a concert of bocinaços. If they close Honorio, it will be inflatable”.
" This corridor will be only decorative and, by a whim or negotiated of the City government, the area will suffer daily a traffic chaos that will aggravate environmental and acoustic pollution. We want you to consider our alternative project “Greenest Honorio”, which involves adding green spaces on the avenue, but keeping two tracks of circulation. And moreover, we need the Nation and the City to get to work so that we have a big park in the Cavalito railway playão”, said Mariano Pasi, neighbor of the neighborhood and member of the barrial assembly. “In this way, no boy will risk suffering an accident because he is playing in the middle of large vehicles,” he added.
Fifteen hectares, fifteen years
Perhaps the most important demand of the neighbors is the use of about 15 hectares on the railway grounds next to the West railway club, so that you can make a great park where you enjoy all citizens. Although these grounds are of the national government, there has never been a true interest of Pro during its 15 years of management so that they are transferred and converted into a public enjoyment space.
But leaving the past behind, several legislators of various forces took the effective request of the neighborhood, and publicly committed themselves to boost the project during the ordinary session of Thursday, July 14. The president of the UCR Block, Marcelo Guouman, argued that he agrees to make a park there, as did Juan Modarelli of the Front of All and Rebeca Fleitas, for Advanced Freedom. Only time will tell if they honor their word and stop giving them their backs to the neighbors, as the City does with the river.
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