Stunt drivers in Mexico
Lakeside seems to have undergone its most heavy rainy season in years. And it’s still not done.
As troupers of all challenges Mexican, we are artfully dodging potholes the size of Volkswagens. Rains that change our roads to rivers. Currents so swift that they knock people off balance.
For me, I am lucky, I live on the top of a very large hill, and the rain drains away quickly. But unlucky in that there are ditches and gullies which narrow our streets in most harrowing ways. In fact, the road to our fraccionamiento is very vividly marked NO PARKING or NO ESTACIONARSE on BOTH sides of the street. But that does little to stop people from parking there and blocking our access to our homes, while they enjoy hiking in the upper mountain. Calls to Transito, tow companies, expat liaisons and the mayor assure us it is being taken care of. Yet our gate guards still are verbally abused by people who think it is their right to park their car in front of our entrance and exit gates.
Most people who live here don’t even attempt to drive on Saturdays and Sundays. There is no point. Only motorcycles can manage to navigate that road.
But we are not the only ones who suffer. As the Guadalajara families rush to Lakeside to escape the chaotic life of the big city, our streets are bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Now, in yet another “beautification” and infrastructure project, Chapala roads are being torn up . . . again, the last project having been completed three years ago. It seems like a grand project, but meanwhile, traffic has become difficult in the extreme.
And the public is trying desperately to figure out the Walmart intersection, which I believe is in the running for the Guinness book of records for the most confusing intersection ever designed. Thank you to all the people who carefully drive through there every day. I am afraid those who have chosen that spot from which to beg are actually in danger of losing their lives.
I have seen some homeowners taking matters into their own hands and filling up potholes on their own streets. Why aren’t the special projects paying any attention to those hazards? San Mateo in Riberas is one of the worst roads and has been for many years. Residents on that street have begged for relief, sadly, without result.
I know nothing about how these decisions are made. I know that the government does seem to try to respond to the problems, but each rainy downfall makes the problem worse. What can be done about the weather? An aggressive team of workers who need the job and the minimum amount of equipment could keep many employed for a long while. Meanwhile, the drivers have to practice their stunt driving skills, and pray their shocks will last until next rainy season.
Correction: In the August Issue the article: “The Criminal and Me” was written by O. B. Howell. The last name was misspelled. Our deepest regrets.
For more information about Lake Chapala visit: www.chapala.com
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