Last night I noticed that I was developing a slight cough -- not what Mary has, but the kind I get when I've been breathing New York City air for more than 3 days or so. You can't miss the smell of it in the narrow streets loaded with buses, taxi's and trucks. So I did a little research today on an issue that could prove to be a deal-breaker for us -- air quality and health.
The bad news is that the city center (which I really like) has air quality about the same as other large Latin American cities. Much of the stuff spews as black fumes (diesel) from buses, and the rest from taxis and trucks. Given the narrow streets and the heavy traffic rushing through them, the air quality suffers. Informal surveys list air quality as the 3rd biggest reason that expats ultimately go back home -- the first two being culture shock and the language barrier for those who refuse to learn Spanish.
The good news is that the local folks have recognized the problem and are starting to do something about it. They've turned a few streets into pedestrian only, but they know they need to do a lot more.
The better news is that they have just started construction on the Tranvia Cuatro Rios, a really cool, clever electric light rail system that will run through the city, especially the old town, and replace the buses and most taxis. The construction started this month and will be done in 14 months. Coupled with this, the city will be closing many more streets to vehicles over a 5 -year period. Look on YouTube for a good video (in Spanish).
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