The proposal was made yesterday by the mayor Daniel Quintero in a meeting with merchants and residents of this sector, prior to the delivery of the revamped Parque Lleras, about which there are several objections.
Lleras park and its most immediate area of influence would be the object of an intervention similar to the one that the district of Medellín has been carrying out since last month in Botero squarein the heart of the capital of Antioquia, which was presented by the mayor daniel quintero as “a hug from the city” to make said square a more inclusive, safe, clean and welcoming space for its visitors.
This is how the burgomaster proposed it to dozens of merchants, artisans, residents and leaders of civic corporations of The town center, who met on the afternoon of Thursday, March 2, at the Josa Ultra Lounge establishment (calle 9 with 37A), to officially receive the promised new Lleras park from the president (despite the fact that it is still under construction, waiting to solve several details not exempt from controversy).
Displaying an impression of an aerial photo of this tourist sector of Comuna 14, Quintero said he has the dream of pedestrianizing the perimeter of the park and some surrounding streets, “many more than those that are already defined will be pedestrianized after the work that continues, such as Carrera 38 and Calle 9A”.
According to his explanation, the area to be pedestrianized within this “embrace of Lleras” would be between the south side of Calle 10 and Calle 8 (limits with the linear park of La Presidenta), and between Carreras 37, 40 and 39 (practically, from Palermo Cultural to Provence). To achieve this, between five and six filters or access control points would be established, as was done in Botero square.
Preliminarily, these points would be at the corner of Carrera 39 with Calle 8, at the intersection of Calle 10 with Carreras 37, 38 and 40, as well as at Calle 9 with Carrera 40. Daniel Quintero invited the attendees at the aforementioned meeting to present their proposals to implement this measure, which was received positively. “This way we can begin to control the problems of minors, micro-trafficking, insecurity, prostitution,” he commented.
- More of the works in Parque Lleras:
With this in mind, he asked the four corporations in the sector (Corpolleras, Parque Lleras Corporation, Barrio Provenza and San Lorenzo de Aburrá) to lead a working group, which will include officials from various offices. The mayor had made an invitation in the same vein, some time ago, to jointly and concertedly deal with the problems of garbage and noise, which continue to be a headache in this area, even affecting the inhabitants of nearby urbanizations.
an incomplete park
As of March 2, more than a year after the start of the project (initially scheduled to finish in eight months, that is, in October 2022), the new Lleras park is almost ready in its main structure. However, several objections were heard yesterday, such as the quality of lighting (very dim yellow light), in response to which Mayor Quintero said “we have resolved that, we can put up some lanterns.”
Other concerns have to do with the fact that the three new surveillance cameras have not been installed, the Grotto of the Virgin has not been finished, and the installation of two batteries of underground waste containers that will be on 9th Street, one near the race 40 and another on race 37A. Nor have the 21 modules for artisans and an additional one for district use been acquired. Another complaint has to do with the fact that the almost hundred-year-old bronze fountain that disappeared from the park in 2013 does not appear. The non-observance of the regulatory height on some platforms is also cause for concern, which contravenes the purpose of facilitating inclusive pedestrian mobility; as well as the lack of electrical connections to be able to carry out cultural events without resorting to mobile diesel power plants.