SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Tijuana residents who live along the coast are growing inpatient with the city and a boardwalk project that was supposed to be done months ago.
Last year, the city decided to redo the boardwalk to beautify the area and draw more visitors to the beach.
At the time, residents and business owners applauded the plan saying it was long overdue.
Since then, as the project has stalled and people in the area have begun calling the modernization of the boardwalk the “never-ending project.”
“Now they’ve suspended repairs at two areas where there might be landslides, we don’t know what the future is for this project,” said Carlos Alberto Melo Macías, president of the beach neighbors association of Tijuana. “All the city will say is that they are busy and can’t help.”
Back in September, the state’s civil protection department put the work on hold, saying it was too dangerous due to the lack of signage and warning lights, which makes the area a hazard to not only residents but the workers themselves.
Melo Macías says nothing has been done ever since.
“The previous administration pretended to accelerate the project and finish it, the current administration says there are many permits to be approved and nothing is happening.”
Now Melo Macías and others fear as the rainy season approaches, the work will be delayed even further.
“This project is in limbo, there’s no sense of urgency, the project has been abandoned, no one cares,” he said.
Salvador Cervantes, coordinator with the state’s civil protection, has said they are concerned with slopes giving way.
Cervantes stated in September that they could not take a chance until all safety regulations were met by the contractor who has yet to prove the slopes will not collapse and are not a public risk.
“We have done inspections, but there are still areas of concern,” said Cervantes. “We have yet to see mitigation work.”
Melo Macías wonders if the work will ever get done.
“There is heavy equipment scattered all over the beach, and access to the beach has been cut off in many areas, it’s turned into a nightmare.”
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