As lakeside’s tourist industry looks forward to a big bump in business during the Easter holiday period, local authorities are bracing for the onslaught of as many as two million visitors.
With schools and many businesses shutting down between April 1 and 15 for Semana Santa and Semana de Pascua breaks, thousands of Guadalajara families will hit the road to take some vacation time. Lake Chapala’s north shore has become a choice destination for folks who don’t have the time, resources or taste for sojourns to popular coastal resorts near and far.
The tourist season peaks between Holy Thursday (April 5) and Easter Sunday (April 8), when nearly everyone enjoys time off. Day-trippers from the city turn up in droves to stroll along the waterfront, plunk down for picnics, frolic in the lake and belly up at the tables of local eateries. Upscale city families settle in for more extended stays at local hotels or private homes kept as holiday retreats.
To cope with the challenges that come with the mass invasion, Chapala’s Civil Protection/Fire Department chief Osbaldo Sandoval was put in charge of drawing up a contingency plan involving the state Traffic Department (SVT), the federal port authority, the Chapala Red Cross, the municipal police force and various city hall offices. The blueprint outlines strategies, responsibilities and protocols to prevent highway accidents, boating mishaps and other emergencies, and to deal with infringements of law.
Tactics include keeping personnel on guard at busy tourist zones and major points of traffic congestion, and installing roadside emergency outposts for police and accident response teams. Special operations will be implemented to protect the public during traditional Holy Week events.
Traffic lights through the center of Ajijic are being set on flashing orange signals, while SVT agents stand at the intersections of Encarnacion Rosas, Galeana and Colon during the daytime to ease the flow of vehicles and assist pedestrians in crossing the roadway. To keep dangerous drivers in check, traffic patrols traveling at moderate speed will cruise the highway to the city between Chapala and the Santa Rosa junction (turn-ff to Ocotlan) on a daily basis from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sandoval encourages local motorists to stay home as much as possible over the coming week and exercise extreme caution whenever they go out on the road.