You don’t need to be a rocket scientist or urban planning expert to understand that the Lake Chapala region is in urgent need of remedies for its nagging traffic issues.
Light may appear at the end of the congested tunnel with the emergence of the Integral Mobility and Logistics Plan supported by substantial funding funneled through the European Climate Change Program (ECCP).
The planning project chiefly aimed at reducing motor vehicle emissions was launched on Sunday, December 2 during a meeting held at Chapala’s Centro Cultural González Gallo. The event brought together European Union Ambassador in Mexico Gautier Mignot, Counselor for Spain’s Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) Ignacio Nicolau Ibarra, Jalisco Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET) Minister Israel García Ochoa, the state’s Federal Liaison and International Affairs Unit Chief Abel Octavio Salgado Peña, and the mayors of lakeshore municipalities.
Financed with a fund of 750,000 euros, the mobility plan will be drawn up over 24 months and executed by the Intermunicipal Association for the Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Lake Chapala (Aipromades), under the auspices of SEMADET. Once implemented it will produce tangible benefits for 316,000 inhabitants of Chapala, Jocotepec, Tuxcueca, Tizapán el Alto, Jamay, Ocotlán and Poncitlán, along with social organizations, and the tourism and transportation sectors. The mission is to reduce emissions, contribute to the national and local commitments to reduce the effects of climate change, and cut economic and social costs of time spent on transportation.