Chapala’s Traffic Department has hired four female officers to enhance control of local thoroughfares and enforcement of regulations.
The young women brought aboard the Movilidad Municipal force bring training, experience and expertise to the job. All four were previously on contract with the state’s Transportation Ministry (Semov), serving with the Salvando Vidas program that operates checkpoints to apply breathalyzer tests and keep drunk drivers off the roads.
With a staff now made up of ten officers under the command of Gerardo Bautista and operations chief Alejandro Casteñeda, the local traffic department is gearing up for full authority over Chapala streets and roadways, with the exception of stretches of highway that remain under state jurisdiction.
State officers are still in charge of enforcement on the highway to Mezcala starting from Avenida Pepe Guizar, the Libramiento bypass, and the section of highway running west of the bypass through La Floresta and Ajijic to Jocotepec and beyond.
The municipality’s Reglamento de Tránsito, largely mirroring state law, was approved by the Chapala City Council on January 28. The rule book will take effect once it is published and made available to the public, and after the local government finalizes arrangements with the Jalisco Finance Ministry to issue tickets and collect fines.
Bautista anticipates that regulations will be fully implemented within the next two months following a publicity campaign to bring residents up to speed.
Meanwhile, motorists should be aware that local traffic agents are continuing to clamp down on parking violations. Vehicles occupying no parking zones, including the Ciclovia bike path in central Ajijic, may be subject to towing and temporary impoundment if left beyond a five-minute period of tolerance allowed by officers on the scene. The same applies to the use of handicapped spaces without the proper credentials.