Sunday, August 21, will see the opening of the 40-hectare extension to Guadalajara’s Colomos Park, once referred to as Colomos III, but now known as the Bosque Pedagógico del Agua (Pedagogical Water Forest).
The new section of the park has been designated an “urban forest” and includes of jogging trails and picnic areas, as well as a bridge spanning Avenida Acueducto that will serve as a pedestrian and bicycle crossing.
The prime space bordering Avenidas Patria and Aceuducto had been eagerly sought after by real estate investors for the past two decades. Environmental groups fought bitterly to prevent state governments from selling the land to the highest bidder. Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro has acknowledged the effort of NGOs to protect the land over the past 20 years, calling the project “a product of consensus and the construction of very broad and intense agreements.”