Vandalism and abandonment, the ‘terrors’ of signs in Ibagué

Absence, damage, lack of maintenance, ignorance and recklessness are part of the ‘cocktail’ that indicates that mobility in the Musical Capital is not going well.

What at the time were vertical traffic signals in Ibagué, to date, have become rusty, crooked metal posts, full of scratches, decals, dirt, in addition to non-existent or imperceptible horizontal demarcations; that little or nothing informs or alerts drivers and pedestrians who pass through the city.

Supplied / The New Day — *37th street with Ambalá avenue.*

A problem caused by third parties, road accidents, atmospheric changes, as well as the lack of intervention of the municipal Administration.

In October 2022, the Mayor’s Office had announced the award of a contract for $650 million to the company Señales Ltda. for road demarcation, signs and traffic devices on roads and critical points in the city.

In this way, there would be regulatory, preventive and horizontal elements, such as parking prohibited, maximum speed allowed, left turning prohibited, pedestrian and school zone, reducers, among others.

Olga Lucia Liévano, who was the Mobility Secretary at that time, had stated, “we have awarded the process to an exhaustible amount, which will last three months and we will give priority to court orders that are popular actions. In the same way, we will place signs in various school zones giving priority to pedestrians”.

A new year began, and this writing, through a tour of various roads in the city, showed that many of these elements remain unidentifiable, occupying public space without fulfilling their functions of guiding or regulating mobility to help prevent accidents.

The most recent change that is known was that of a no-turn sign that was installed on Pedro Tafur avenue, which was in the midst of controversy when it was intervened by two men who did not have clothing or elements that would identify them as contractors, with which that many ibaguereños thought that the signal was stolen, in this regard the local government had to come out and clarify the issue.

Apart from the multiple sensations that the commented intervention left, according to the action that day, it was given to understand that the vertical traffic signs that have lost their reflective should be cut from their base to be renewed, in addition that 200 of them had already been replaced. This elements.

In conversation with various road actors, they commented that apart from the obvious intervention required by the elements that exist in various areas of the city near educational institutions, health centers and roads with high traffic flow, the signs need to be painted or installed corresponding.

On the Seine viaduct of Carrera Cuarta Estadio, at the Amina Melendro educational institution; near the Jaime Rooke Battalion, entering the Cerros de Granate neighborhood, on Calle 40 with Carrera Sexta, on Ambalá avenue where the lack of lighting is added, and Pedro Tafur avenue, are some of the many places that need to be signposted according to the citizenship.

The absence or deterioration of traffic signs could be one of the causes of traffic accidents, however, it cannot be ignored that the apparent ignorance and recklessness of road actors is a latent evil.

Therefore, it is not uncommon to see that prohibited turns are made, vehicles are located on the crossroads, or that vehicles are parked where there are no parking signs.

This newsroom tried to communicate with the Mobility Secretary, but there was no response.