Celebrated every Sunday by some 150,000 participants, the Vía Recreactiva recently commemorated its 15th year of operations in metro-area Guadalajara.
Following in Bogota, Colombia’s footsteps, Guadalajara became the second city in the world to close its streets to traffic for the benefit of pedestrians. Originally the Via consisted of 11.4 kilometers from Tetlán to Los Arcos, before gradually expanding to 62 kilometers.
As of today, the Sunday activity services nearly eight million people annually.
One regular participant is Ívan Díaz, an English teacher who says the Vía Recreativa inspired him to move from Ocotlán to Guadalajara seven years ago. He saw an opportunity to live a more active lifestyle and to transform his routine.
“Back then, I used to go clubbing from time to time. It was kind of nice but then the next day I always felt awful,” says Díaz. “Since I started going to Vía Recreativa I realized there was actually a different world than the other one I was living.”
Lucy Barriga, who was the program’s first director, says the popularity of the Vía Recreativa over the past 15 years is a reflection on the absence of public spaces, parks and green areas in Guadalajara.
According to official data, 53 percent of participants cycle on the Via, while 40 percent walk or run. The remainder use other forms of transport, such as skates or skateboards.
While the vast majority of users are well behaved, the activity has also attracted some negative attention. Between January 2016 and December 2018, the project accumulated 139 administrative offenses in Guadalajara. Common offenses have ranged from smoking marijuana, urinating, not wearing clothes or even fighting in public. Another complaint has been that some marshals who police intersections along the route are often inattentive to passing traffic and put participants in danger.
The Vía Recreativa operates from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday. To see the full routes, visit viarecreactiva.org.