[sustran] Times article on visiting Bogota leaves out Transmilenio!

Eric Britton eric.britton at ecoplan.org
Tue Feb 21 02:28:57 JST 2006


Hmm.  Bottom line!

 

What this suggest to me is that this is exactly the right time to produce a
first rate film/video along the lines of Contested Streets
<http://www.cicalafilmworks.com/cs/> , together with a supporting media,
outreach program, etc. – which provides a clear and understandable picture
of “Why BRT and why not the other thing”.  Authoritative, balanced, easy,
and above all very human. 

 

Counterpoint: 

*         NYC and maybe one other US and, why not, one S. European city

*         Scan existing metro line in each city (reminders of cost, time of
construction, cost of delays, achieved ridership, operating deficits,
danger/vandalism, etc.)

*         Look at plan for a new line (costs, time, etc.)

*         Visit 2, max. 3 BRTs that are doing the job in very different
contexts

*         Demonstrate how it would work in specific street/avenue situation
of target cities.

*         Wo(man) on the street interviews all around

 

I’d guess that something on the order of $200k or so would do the trick (but
what do I now about this end of it, eh?).

 

It should be IRREFUTABLE!

 

I’d love to lend a hand.  As far as I am concerned this is right at the
heart of the New Mobility Agenda as I understand it.

 

Eric Britton

 

 

 

After thinking about this, however, I realize there is an important hidden
agenda...New York has struggled for 50 years over whether or not to build
the 2nd ave. metro. Why not a BRT? Well, the reason is that the state owns
the buses, the city the streets, but that aside, imagine the $1billion or so
the city would save. So it had been my faint hope that New Yorkers would
read this, see about TM, and say "hmm why not here"?

 

>>> <eesandoval at cable.net.co> 2/20/2006 11:26:13 AM >>>

Dear Lee:

 

The real problem is that with our country security problems since the 70's;
we lost the tourism culture here in Colombia, except in some cities in the
Caribbean. After Peñalosa's period the people recover the confidence to come
to Bogota, but we don't have strong tourism programs yet. There are, but
they are starting. However, in almost all the tourism magazine in the
airlines there are reference to TM and in each report about Bogota
transformation. You can find tourism programs to go to down town by TM to
the Gold and Botero Museums, especially to see the lights in the buildings
in Christmas.

 

In fact, it is the first document that I see, with these characteristics in
the last three years, without mention or reference to TM. However, everyone
in Bogota we are so happy with this article. This journalist is a hero for
us. I'm sure that in his next visit he could use TM and he won't like to use
the NY metro for example. I'm sure that he didn't know TM and his reference
is for the rest of buses system in Bogota* this is a good opportunity for a
new article about TM alone in the future. 

 

I know that TM agency had printed maps with tourism icons, sponsored
expositions, theatre and films to show another option to the people on the
stations, but in tourism, the best publicity is when the local people and
the taxi drivers recommend visit the city by bus and we need more years
before that the Bogotanians forget our terrible histories in the buses and
the taxi drivers don't see TM like their enemy.

 

Of course, the current routes are mainly to go from the poor areas to the
working places. With the introduction of the 7th avenue (the main street in
historical terms) and the 26th street (airport, land terminal, convention
centres, new hotel areas), I'm sure that this kind of trips will be
increased in TM.

 

I know that you really love TM, but we are in elementary (only 5 years in
operation) and with the work of us here or outside of Bogota, everyday more
people will use TM for tourism.

 

Don't forget that the most important in TM isn't the infrastructure or the
buses, it is the cultural change, and on it, some times this kind of changes
take more than one generation to be real.

 

Of course if one of you can find donations in order to promote tourism in TM
worldwide, I'm sure that the new General Manager of TM Agency will be happy
to accept. Or if you can sponsor more journalists to come and to write about
it, everyone here will be ready to organize an especial program.

 

Best,

 

 

Edgar Enrique Sandoval Castro

 

----- Mensaje original -----

De: Lee Schipper <schipper at wri.org>

Fecha: Domingo, Febrero 19, 2006 0:03 am

Asunto: RE: Times article on visiting Bogota  leaves out    Transmilenio!
How USCentric -- write letters !

 

> +But isnt it important to "mainstream" TM so that its a part of

> everyone's observations about bogota?

> 

> >>> "Carlos F. Pardo SUTP" <carlos.pardo at sutp.org> 2/18/2006

> 4:29:31 PM >>>

> Lee,

> 

> I think the success has been broadcasted (maybe more than) enough.

> TM has

> (and still should) focus on access to the greater portion of the 

> population,and it should start to address seriously key issues 

> such as integration with

> other modes (for instance, the Americas bike station is actually 

> the only

> one in the entire system, and there are no park-n-ride facilities 

> that I

> know of). Once these issues are solved, it would be useful to 

> think about

> tourists and further diffusion.

> 

> Best regards,

> 

> Carlos F. Pardo

> Coordinador de Proyecto 

> GTZ - Proyecto de Transporte Sostenible (SUTP, SUTP-LAC) 

> Cl 125bis # 41-28 of 404

> Bogotá D.C., Colombia

> Tel:  +57 (1) 215 7812 / 635 9048

> Fax: +57 (1) 635 9015 / 236 2309 

> Mobile: +57 (3) 15 296 0662

> e-mail: carlos.pardo at sutp.org 

> Página: www.sutp.org 

> - Visite nuestra nueva sección de Latinoamérica y el Caribe en

>  <http://www.sutp.org/esp/espindex.htm>
http://www.sutp.org/esp/espindex.htm 

> - Únase al grupo de discusión de Transporte Sostenible en 

> Latinoaméricaenviando un correo a  sutp-lac-

> subscribe at gruposyahoo.com 

> 

> 

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Lee Schipper [schipper at wri.org]

> Subject: Re: Times article on visiting Bogota leaves out 

> Transmilenio! How

> USCentric -- write letters !

> 

> Enrique once made the point, however, that the 2nd line in place

> should have some appeal to the well off. Why not something that does 

> serve tourists, which has the additional benefit of broadcasting 

> the success to the rest of the world!

> 

> >>> Lloyd Wright <lfwright at usa.net> 2/18/2006 1:41:38 PM >>>

> Thanks for the article Lee.

> 

> Yes, it is a major oversight that the author was oblivious to

> TransMilenio. 

> However, in some ways this is partially understandable.  TM is not 

> really that

> relevant from a tourist's standpoint.  Bogotá actually has a lot of

> attractions for national and overseas visitors, but many are not 

> reallyaccessible from TM.  (Of course, it seems hard to believe 

> that the author

> missed the Museo de Oro station).

> 

> Probably from a tourist's perspective, a TM corridor on Carrera

> Séptima would be more useful.  Or what about even a proper connection
straight to the airport terminals?  I often wonder if tourism should be more
of a consideration in corridor selection.  Of course, I also realise that

> corridors

> to low-income areas should be the first priority, as has been the 

> case to

> date.

> 

> Saludos,

> 

> Lloyd

> 

> ------ Original Message ------

> Received: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:31:23 PM EST

> From: "Lee Schipper" <schipper at wri.org>

> Subject: Times article on visiting Bogota  leaves out  

> Transmilenio!   HowUS

> Centric -- write letters !

> 

> Letters shoudl be addressed to letters at nytimes.com   -- the writer 

> evenadvocates hiring a taxi for the day but not ridig the bus!

> 

> Como se llama "harumph" en espanol?

> 

> Colombia

> More on Colombia

> Bogotá Is Not Just for the Brave Anymore

> 

Article Tools Sponsored By

By SETH KUGEL

Published: February 12, 2006

 

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA, the fourth largest city in South America, with seven
million residents, is home to a vibrant restaurant scene, world-class
museums and a charming colonial quarter. It is the country's capital and
intellectual hub, an enlightened, pedestrian-friendly city with 75 miles of
urban arteries turned over to cyclists and walkers every Sunday. And to top
it off, the weather is temperate, with highs in the 60's year round. Skip to
next paragraph Readers

Forum: Travel in the News

 

In other words, Bogotá is a great place to visit.

 

No, seriously, it is.

 

Violent reputations can take a long time to shake - just ask tourism
officials in Beirut or the Bronx - but Bogotá has been shaking hard for
about a decade. Several mayors engineered an urban rebirth; since taking
office in 2002 the Colombian president, Álvaro Uribe, cracked down on
violence. Unesco awarded it the City for Peace Prize for 2002-3, given for
developing "a true urban conviviability," and named it the World Book
Capital in 2007. And in January, the United States State Department issued a
Travel Warning for Colombia that said, "Violence in recent years has
decreased markedly in most urban centers, including Bogotá."

 

"The situation in Bogotá seems to be greatly improved in terms of security
and public safety from five years ago, and the atmosphere is much more
relaxed," said Marshall Louis, a spokesman for the United States Embassy
there.

 

Bogotá can be dangerous, to be sure, but the primary concern is theft, not
kidnappings. And extortion-related kidnappings are becoming rarer across the
nation, with the government reporting a 51 percent drop: 369 in 2005, down
from 747 in 2004.They remain far more frequent in rural areas.

 

Visitors should avoid public transportation and call taxis instead of
hailing possibly unauthorized cars. Hire a taxi for the day if possible; it
is relatively cheap (12,000 pesos an hour - just over $5 at 2,300 pesos to
the dollar), eliminates waiting and the driver can serve as an informal tour
guide. Do not wear fancy jewelry and keep a hand on your wallet in crowds.

 

Once you get the safety drill down, the city is yours to explore. It is laid
out in an easy-to-navigate grid of carreras and calles. Here are a few
places you'll find:

 

The Gold Museum (Museo del Oro, Calle 16, 5-41 - meaning between Carreras 5
and 6, No. 41; phone 57-1-343-2222; entrance 2,500 pesos) with its 34,000
pre-Columbian gold items. The Botero Museum (Calle 11, No. 4-21,
57-1-343-1223), a collection donated by the Colombian painter and sculptor
Fernando Botero, including 123 of his own works and others by Picasso,
Monet, Renoir and the like. La Candelaria, a colonial neighborhood of steep
streets that is practically a museum in itself.

 

Then there are the fine restaurants in the hot new restaurant district known
as the Zona G, and those with a more edgy feel in the Bosque Izquierdo
neighborhood. And romantic Usaquén, a small town swallowed up by the
fashionable northern reaches of the city, has excellent restaurants, live
music venues and a Sunday flea market. (For an introduction to the city see

www.english.bogotaturismo.gov.co.)

 

Colombian food, largely unknown to Americans, has plenty to offer: steaks;
corncakes known as arepas; cheese buns called almojábanas; and the Bogotano
specialty, a chicken, potato and avocado stew called ajiaco, seasoned with
guascas leaves. Where to find the best ajiaco is a matter for debate, but to
start, there's Casa Vieja (Avenida Jiménez, No. 3-62, 57-1-334-8908, and two
other locations); and on weekends, Entrepués, north of the city (Carretera
Central del Norte, kilometer 23, vía Sopó, 57-1-865-0020).

 

Bogotá is a typical Andean high-altitude polluted city-in-a-bowl, so
physical beauty is not its forte. But taking the funicular (at Carrera 2 and
Calle

21)

to the top of Monserrate hill is a must, along with a visit to the Museo del
Oro and Plaza Bolívar (the requisite central-plaza-with-cathedral). Sports
fans will want to check out a soccer game at El Campín stadium, where both
Millonarios and Santa Fé play (at Calle 57 Avenida 30, 57-1-315-8726;
tickets 8,000 to 30,000 pesos). In January or February, go to the bullfights
at the Plaza de Santamaría (Carrera 6, No. 26-50, 57-1-334-1482 for tickets,
which are 60,000 to 380,000 pesos).

 

There is as much to do just beyond the city limits, in the lovely rural
surroundings that Bogotanos call the Sabana. Rustic restaurants with
traditional food abound, and 30 miles from the city in Zipaquirá is the
popular Salt Cathedral, literally a cathedral carved from a salt mine.

 

And then there's Andrés Carne de Res in Chía (Calle 2, No. 11a-56,
57-1-863-7880), a restaurant in name but really a riotously decorated
spectacle of art and music and eccentricity (check out
www.andrescarnederes.com, to get an idea).The endless menu is heavy on the
beef (that's what Carne de Res means, after all) but they also serve
everything from ajiaco to banana splits. Those wanting relative calm should
eat in the afternoon; those going at night should go early to get a table,
and stay late as the mayhem (eat, drink, dance, dance on tables) ensues.

 

The Andrés experience is representative of what the world misses out on by
not going to Colombia: it manages to be profound, spellbinding, beautiful,
tumultuous, confusing and fattening all at once. 

 

 

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