Forums > General > Living, Working, Retiring

alex .

Jun 16, 2004, 2:07 PM

Post #1 of 11 (886 views)

Shortcut

more pavement?

Can't Post | Private Reply

A political candidate in Tijuana has a billboard stating :"Mas Pavemiento...para mas Colonias". Seeing that Tijuana is pretty much paved over already, I'd imagine "More Groceries" would be a better approach.
Alex

gpk

Jun 16, 2004, 4:09 PM

Post #2 of 11 (858 views)

Shortcut

Re: [alex .] more pavement?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Unless Tijuana is different from every other Mexican city I've seen, there are colonias there without paved streets--and without streetlights, city water, and sometimes electricity.

alex .

Jun 16, 2004, 4:38 PM

Post #3 of 11 (852 views)

Shortcut

Re: [gpk] yep, you 're right

Can't Post | Private Reply

there are neighborhoods without paved streets, though most of the rest of the infrastructure is in place. Its not clear to me that the issue is tops on the list of things that need to be done,apparently he thinks so.
It reminds me of the PRI commercial showing a pipe in the middle of town with water flowing out of it, the women washing clothes by hand. The residents used to haul water from the river, now, because of all the progress credited to 71 years of PRI rule, they don't have to haul water anymore.
Alex

(This post was edited by alex . on Jun 16, 2004, 4:40 PM)

Ed and Fran

Jun 16, 2004, 6:22 PM

Post #4 of 11 (828 views)

Shortcut

Re: [alex .] yep, you 're right

Can't Post | Private Reply

"The residents used to haul water from the river, now, because of all the progress credited to 71 years of PRI rule, they don't have to haul water anymore."

Well not from the river, anyway. Just from the standpipe to their homes.............

Regards

Ed (wishing they'd pave the streets in our colonia...............)

Rolly

Jun 16, 2004, 6:31 PM

Post #5 of 11 (825 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Ed and Fran] yep, you 're right

Can't Post | Private Reply

>(wishing they'd pave the streets in our colonia...............)

Me too.

A couple of years ago Fox promised to spend a lot of money to improve the highways in northern Mexico. That promise is being fulfilled. There has been/continues to be a lot of badly needed highway work around Lerdo. It's wonderful! Now if the city just had some money to do our street.

Rolly Pirate

alex .

Jun 17, 2004, 7:01 AM

Post #6 of 11 (773 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Ed and Fran] I was saddened when our street was paved

Can't Post | Private Reply

in Arizona. There used to be a lot of equestrian traffic ; the bar at the end of the road had a hitching post. The horses knew the way home so the clients of the bar had few worries. On occasion a horse would come by sans rider, I'd put him in the round pen that I had on the corner of the property. Eventually the owner would come stumbling along to collect his ride the rest of the way home. Not anymore.
But OK, if everyone wants more pavement, I'll go along with the democratic vote,
Alex

Ed and Fran

Jun 17, 2004, 8:23 AM

Post #7 of 11 (749 views)

Shortcut

Re: [alex .] I was saddened when our street was paved

Can't Post | Private Reply

Believe me Alex, I'm not a fan of universal pavement. But getting in and out of our colonia is a real pita, wet or dry. Fortunately for us, the local vaqueros pass by in the potrero on the other side of the street, not down the street itself. So we have nothing to lose but our mud!!! :-)

And, by the way, it's raining this morning. So our streets, which just finished drying out into a mini-badlands of crags, peaks and valleys, will be mini-esteros by evening. I suppose it's only fitting as the three main streets of the colonia are named Laguna Madre, Laguna de Tamiahua, and Laguna de Terminos (ours).

Regards

E&F

Adrian

Jun 17, 2004, 11:25 AM

Post #8 of 11 (718 views)

Shortcut

Re: [alex .] more pavement?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Interestingly enough, there were always masses of road and pavement works in London from March to May each year. It was suggested by the waggish that this was because:
1. Local elections were always in April/May.
2. The financial year ended in April and if a local government hadn't spent the cash allotted to it by central govt. then it lost that money for the following year.
3. The financial year-end meant that work could be done in March but billed in April so effectively across 2 financial years - thus lowering reported profits for contractors and expenditures for city governments.

Aaah! Politics!

:-)
Adrian

"lo siento, pero no puedo hacer commentarios politicos - soy immigrante"

Ed and Fran

Jun 17, 2004, 12:25 PM

Post #9 of 11 (706 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Adrian] more pavement?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Close Adrian, but you're still adjusting to the realities here. Back across the pond you actually had "...masses of road and pavement works in London from March to May each year..."

Unfortunately what Alex has in Tijuana is a billboard talking about more paving, not the actual work.

Down here in the lesser provinces we'd settle for the billboard...............

You said "The financial year ended in April and if a local government hadn't spent the cash allotted to it by central govt. then it lost that money for the following year." We have somthing similar, but here it is suggested by the waggish that this potential problem is solved by siphoning off funds to local pockets instead of a flurry of local projects.

And, to add a footnote to this topic (as I just returned from the vulcanizadora who extracted two, not one but two, nails from my right front tire) let me rant a bit. I know I can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that all my flats are caused by the roads (if you can call them that) in my colonia, but in my gut I know where they're coming from.

My fellow colonials (can I call them that?) seem to think the best way to help out the road situation in the colonia is to throw whatever construction waste is handy in the middle of the road. The theory is that we'll help fill in the low areas. Okay, to a certain extent I buy into the theory.

Concrete chunks and broken brick and masonry is okay up to a point. I mean let's not build new topes while we're at it. Excavated material or gravel might be okay, but the yellow clay that we have for subsoil in the neighborhood just turns to greasy toothpaste when it gets wet and hurts more than it helps. And I'm not sure of the theory behind throwing old palm fronds into the soup. I mean, let's cut down trees and make a corduroy road, maybe, but palm fronds?

Back in another life I had cars that I bought, used, and sold and never had to know where the jack was or change a tire. Here I have an open account at my local vulcanizadora.

My 'To Do' list in the morning typically goes:
- take the kid to school
- walk dogs
- patch flat tire

Life has taken on a strange resemblance to the Indy 500......I drive down the street, pull into my vulcanizadora, he and his team slide the jack under my car, off comes the tire, quick change and I'm out of there. A new record. Even the cashier knows me by sight.

What was that old refrain??? "They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot..." Okay leave Paradise alone, but my street (which is at the other end of the spectrum from Paradise) PAVE IT PLEASE.

Okay, rant over. I now return you to your normally scheduled programing.

And remember, your mileage may vary.........especially if you use Pemex.

Regards

E

alex .

Jun 17, 2004, 4:03 PM

Post #10 of 11 (679 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Ed and Fran] that billboard

Can't Post | Private Reply

and a couple of old garage doors and presto...you got a house!
Alex

wendy devlin

Jun 17, 2004, 6:22 PM

Post #11 of 11 (656 views)

Shortcut

Re: [alex .] more pavement?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Alex,

That must be some election in Tijuana!

There's another mayoral candidate in the news today.

From the article:
"An eccentric multimillionaire running for mayor of this rough border city has apologized for saying his favorite animal is "woman."

http://www.sfgate.com/...L&type=printable