With a budget of 350 million pesos, Merida’s Calle 47 in Centro is poised to become the city’s most popular dining area.
Led by City Hall, the project involves transforming a street already teeming with restaurants into a full-fledged gastronomic corridor.
Roads that have yet to be modified will feature one-lane traffic, bike paths, and sidewalks. However, the published concept renderings are inconsistent.
Other changes include revamping the chaotic electrical infrastructure in the region, which will be completely underground.
Major works are also planned to connect Calle 47 with Santa Ana Park to the west and the under-construction Parque La Plancha to the east.
However, residents of Calle 47 complain that the new project will eliminate all on-street parking and create unacceptable levels of noise.
Like most streets and neighborhoods in Merida’s Centro, Calle 47 is primarily populated by older people, most of whom have lived in the same location for decades.
“They came up and asked me what I thought of this project. To be honest, I was worried they wouldn’t like what I had to say, but I spoke anyway. ‘, it doesn’t matter. They’re going to do what they want, regardless of how the people who actually live here feel,” said a local resident in his late 70s who wished to remain anonymous.
A while ago: La Plancha Park project moves forward with huge budget
There are also concerns about parking, as restaurants in the area already rely primarily on valet parking.
On February 8th Yucatán Magazine attended a conference to hear the views of Centro’s international community on the project.
During the conference, expats living on and around Calle 47 expressed concerns about issues such as garbage collection, social justice, and potential abandonment of the project after the current government leaves office.
Plans to revamp Calle 47 and the surrounding area have rekindled controversy over Remate’s controversial Montejo monument.
Defenders of the statue argued that Montejos was part of Yucatan history. But while the statue he was only erected in 2010 and the plan further honors these conquerors, so many homages to their names already exist in the city that their legacy continues to grow. Scrutinized.
The monument has also been the target of vandalism by feminist groups who see its existence as offensive.
