Merchants at Ajijic’s Wednesday street market (tianguis) will be relocated over the next three weeks while a work crew temporarily takes over Calle Revolución to install lines of pedestrian-friendly stone pavers down the center of the cobblestone street.
As of Wednesday, August 13, most market vendors will set up their stalls along Juan Alvarez, one block east of the usual venue, on the stretch running between the highway and Calle Constitución. The few vendors who normally do business on side streets Guadalupe Victoria and Constitución will stay in that vicinity.
In a meeting with city councilman Carlos Soto on August 6, the vendors embraced the project, recognizing that safety and comfort benefits for their customers outweigh any short-term inconveniences.
The project was originally proposed nearly a year ago by town administrator Hector España’s citizen advisory committee. While Chapala Mayor Joaquin Huerta supported the concept from the get-go, the city government held off on starting work until a request for federal funding to carry out a more ample street improvement program was approved.
The five-million-peso Fondo de Pavimentación (FODEPEP) package granted by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit will cover the costs of upgrading Calle Revolución and an L-shaped loop in central Ajijic, as well as fully repaving Chapala’s Calle Venustiano Carranza between Avenida Pepe Guizar and the entrance to the Nuevo Chapala subdivision.
The Chapala project will also start next week. The second Ajijic street job is due to get underway following a public meeting to be held in the next couple of weeks to explain the plan to residents and business owners.
According to Soto, the tianguis street enhancement involves replacing 537 square meters of cobblestones with two strips of adoquín pavers. The rest of the roadway and underground hydraulic infrastructure is in good enough condition to remain untouched.
Motorists are advised to keep in mind that Revolución and Venustiano Carranza will be closed to through traffic until the work is finished. Likewise, vehicle access to Juan Alvarez will be prohibited during most of the day on Wednesdays, until the market returns to its accustomed location.