Security and mobility, keys in the second month of Jorge Yunda

Ecuadornews:

Encourage the purchase of electric vehicles, promote the adoption of stray dogs, reduce municipal spending on vehicles and cell phone consumption are among the first steps taken by the mayor of Quito, Jorge Yunda, in his first 30 days in office. The Municipality will buy trolleys and articulated 100% electric, after polishing the terms of reference left by the previous City Hall. And will exempt from the measure of the peak and plate those who buy electric cars. In addition, he proposed to build at least 10 power stations. Yunda said that it will not subsidize more public transport and that, on the contrary, a “technical rate” will be set this month. After his first announcement, he said that the increase in the rate that has been frozen for more than 16 years would only happen if there are improvements in the service. That same condition was maintained for more than two years of compensation in the previous administration. The issue must be dealt with in the Council. Yunda appointed 30 of 35 managers from its main work team and called a contest for the nine zonal administrators. In addition, it announced a plan for total resurfacing in “six or seven months”. According to Councilman Eduardo del Pozo (I think), a report from the Epmmop in the last administration, determined that this would cost about USD 1 billion. The Municipality has a budget of USD 672.8 million (outside the Metro) and, according to its authorities, USD 585 million of them are not available because they are committed to contracts and current expenses. Yunda has not yet reported how it will finance the project and how it will be executed in such a short time. Only the resurfacing of the side lanes of 10 de Agosto Avenue, between La Y and San Blas, was planned for 90 days. He only mentioned that in order to reduce the impact on traffic, the peak and plate intervals would be temporarily eliminated and it would be extended under a modality similar to that of today’s non-circulation, which rules in other countries. For this, an amendment to the ordinance will be made. The first weeks of Yunda have been positive, in general terms, highlights the political analyst Sebastian Mantilla Baca, because it has given a fresh image and has approached institutions such as the Assembly and the Pichincha Prefecture. Although there are criticisms for his plan to sponsor dogs, for Mantilla it has been a creative way of positioning a serious issue: the control of urban fauna. Now he believes that Yunda should advance policies for this and other issues, once he assessed the state of the city. The answers to their needs should go beyond the Metro, according to Mantilla, as there are mobility, social and infrastructure problems that must be addressed. The rise of the passage, for example, must be decided and could be made in conjunction with the arrival of the Metro. Suggests that announcements such as repaving should be rethought according to reality. A plan of kilometers for years could be disseminated, “leaving aside the populist discourse and sincerándose”. Yunda is a personage of the communication and the private company, reason why he is a different man and more pragmatic than political, says the urbanist Hernán Orbea. He expects that facet in the Mayor. “Initiatives such as cultural expressions in the Historic Center show an interest in giving a kind of strategic booklet of communication with practical facts with the city,” he adds. He points out that his vision of the city has not yet been noticed, but he trusts that it will be evident in the autonomous statute and its concrete actions to integrate the private sector that is still waiting. In addition, Orbea says that it is common for a mayor to receive a budget that is largely committed, but this should not immobilize him but make him proactive. In politics, he says, it is usual for the focus to be on what the person and the party should shine and not the city and its needs. The mayor must, then, look for alternatives to obtain financing and redirect resources. In the first month of the administration, Yunda had several meetings with industrial, commercial and tourist sectors, as well as cabinets to address priority issues such as mobility and security. In the latter, the Mayor said that a tender will be opened to improve video surveillance in Quito and will invest in more public lighting. In a tourism and economic proposal, we work with the authorities of the central government in the pilot plan of the ‘borojó hour’, which aims to make Quito a living city and awake 24 hours a day. The planning of the city advances in projects directed by the urbanist Fernando Carrión, advisor to the Mayor. He points out that the Autonomic Statute is taking shape and a first presentation was made before the Strategic Planning Commission of the Metropolitan Council. In addition, Carrión works on the development of the Metropolitan Corridor project, which will cross the city transversally between avenues Avenidas 10 de Agosto, Guayaquil and Maldonado. “This is a plan that already has a content and terms of reference. In a short time, there will be an open contest first of ideas and then of projects, “he says. As an urban planner, Carrión considers that there are encouraging signs in the reorganization of the budget and the internal structure of the Municipality. In addition, he believes it is positive that Yunda has gone from a block of three councilors to achieve a majority in the Council. In context Today is the first month of Jorge Yunda as mayor. In his team the directors of Conquito, Security Companies, Trace, Tourism and Habitat are missing and to complete the contest for zonal administrators. The announcements Passages: A technical rate will be applied and the subsidy will be removed. Peak and plate: It will be extended all day and will be exempt to electric cars. Total resurfacing: It is not known how it will be financed. Energy: 10 electric stations will be installed and there will be electric buses. Zonal: Changed the way of selection by public contest. Urban Fauna: Plan of co-responsibility of the public sector. Autonomous Statute: Workshops with academics and citizenship. Corridor: August 10, Guayaquil and Maldonado will be revitalized. Budget: The budget that was extended will be reformed. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/seguridad-movilidad-jorge-yunda-alcaldia.html