A group of neighbors from the South Caribbean known as CicloVida presented a proposal to the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation for the creation of a bike line of almost 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from Hone Creek to Manzanillo in route 256.

The group started promoting this project in August of 2017, as an option to create a safe area for cyclists to transit this area, in communities known for the use of bicycles as a means of transportation. The proposal includes the construction of the bike lane, a reorganization of traffic in the center of Puerto Viejo and the lowering of speed limits in certain areas.

This initiative also aims to protect the wildlife of the area, since many animals end up as victims of traffic accidents.

“We don’t want the streets to end up belonging to cars, here they are running over wild animals, monkeys, squirrels, armadillos, snakes, sloths, iguanas, when they cross the street and existing regulation is not appropriate”, explained Karol Méndez, part of the CicloVida group.

Even though progress has been slow, the project is already past the field work and on the stage of analysis and reporting, analyzing the route’s different sectors and bridges, speed limits, etc.

This is one of several projects that promote the use of bicycles as a clean transportation method, in different regions of the country.