The municipality of Ponce will join the list of towns that close streets to vehicle traffic for the enjoyment and recreation of residents.
Starting Sunday, October 19, La Ciudad Señorial (as Ponce is known) will launch its initiative Camino Real: vía libre recreativa, which will restrict vehicle traffic between 6:00 and 10:00 a.m. on Avenida Hostos and Calle Marina, connecting a recreational route between Plaza 65 de Infantería, in Playa de Ponce, and Plaza de las Delicias, in the historic downtown.
The initiative is part of the Plan Ponce 2032, which aims to "establish mobility and accessibility plans for the city, provide more livable spaces, and give citizens a better quality of life," Orlando Delgado González, director of the Oficina de Ordenación Territorial of the municipality of Ponce, told Platea. His office is in charge of implementing the proposal.
Camino Real is part of a six-month pilot project in which streets will be closed once a month for recreational activities for children, adults, people with disabilities, and older adults. The plan is to extend it indefinitely.
Camino Real: Recreational and tourist activities for the whole family
Along this 4.5-kilometer route (9 km as a circuit), participants will have one lane for wheeled activities (cycling, skating, skateboarding, wheelchair use, etc.) and another for physical activities such as walking and running.
On the street-closure day, Plaza de las Delicias and Plaza 65 de Infantería will host recreational activities for the whole family, with a focus on older adults, Delgado González said.
Among the activities, there will be classes in:
Zumba
Aerobics
Tai Chi
Taekwondo
Tourist route: The public will also be able to visit various tourist sites in la Perla del Sur, located near Camino Real, including:
El Parque de Bombas
La Catedral Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
El Parque de la Abolición
La Plaza Agueybaná
El Parque Urbano Dora Colón Clavell
Why Camino Real?
"Taking advantage of the historic downtown of Ponce and the connection that has always existed between La Playa and the town, we used the same route that was historically known as Camino Real," said the director of the Oficina de Ordenación Territorial.
During the Spanish colonial period, this was the route that carriages traveled from the port of Ponce, located in the La Playa sector where passengers disembarked, to the historic downtown.
"It is no longer known as Camino Real. Now we are bringing back the historic name for a modern initiative, to connect people with the history of the city," he added.
A link with Ruta Borinquen for cyclists and hikers
Camino Real falls within what is known as Ruta Borinquen, a community initiative that brings together several organizations with the goal of creating a multimodal, ecological loop route along the land and tracks of the old circumferential railway that ran around the coasts of Puerto Rico.
"We are joining initiatives like Ruta Borinquen, which is a cycling route along Puerto Rico's old railway lines. They want to build trails connecting the whole island, and in Ponce the route runs through La Playa," Delgado González explained.
In this first phase of the project, they will create signage to mark the cycling routes and trails, as well as nearby museums and tourist sites. "There will be signage for available public spaces, how long it will take you on foot or by bike. At historic buildings, you will have information about the history of the space and how to enjoy it", the municipal official added.
The initiatives are based on the philosophy of Ciudades 8-80, by Colombian urbanist Guillermo Peñalosa, which proposes transforming urban spaces so that both 8-year-old children and 80-year-old adults can enjoy them. Peñalosa presented this model in Puerto Rico this year at a gathering of planners and urban development professionals organized by AARP.
What other towns close streets for recreation?
Toa Alta: Ruta El Josco
When: second Sunday of each month
Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Where: PR-861 Eddie Santiago, Curvas de la Herradura
Maunabo: Vía Libre en los Túneles Vicente Morales Lebrón
When: First Sunday of the month
Hours: 6:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Where: Túneles Vicente Morales Lebrón, PR-53
Canóvanas-Loíza: Ruta Escénica
When: Saturdays and Sundays
Hours: 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: PR-951 highway
Toa Baja-Dorado: Ruta del Ciclista/Ruta del Encanto
When: Sundays
Hours: 6:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Where: PR-165, partial closure to Parque Agroturístico de Dorado
Naranjito: Vía Libre en el Puente Atirantado
When: Last Sunday of each month
Hours: 6:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Where: Puente Atirantado, closure from the cruce las banderas to the bridge
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
