The Long-Suffering Independence Park

Women walk past the vacant Universidades
TransMilenio station. 

When Independence Park was created in 1910 to commemorate the centennial of Colombia's revolution it was a marvel. Besides stretching from Bogotá's Eastern Hills west down across Ave. Septima to the Parque Centenario. The park also had an exotic collection of buildings evoking Egypt, modern industry, the fine arts and others.

"The surface of Mars, Versailles, the Crystal Palace, and European marvels before which a traveler becomes stupefied have been transported suddenly and magically to Bogotá," reported a Bogotá newspaper.

The unfinished bridge connecting Independence Park,
on the left, to the Museum of Modern Art, on the right.

But that was the park's high point. In the 1950s the 26th St. avenue to the airport was slashed thru the park, amputating its southern side. Later, other avenues were expanded, completely erasing the Parque Centenario. Crime also gave Independence park a bad reputation. And the marvelous buildings were removed, except for the 'Kiosk of Light,' now a tourist information office.

In recent years, the park has been restored and become a popular gathering spot. And, together with the project expanding TransMilenio to the airport, city planners decided to carry out a plan by architect Rogelio Salmona to expand and partially restore the park by roofing over 26th St., connecting Independence Park to the nearby Museum of Modern Art.

Las Torres del Parque stand behind the bullfighting stadium.

Salmona's plan was terribly expensive and elaborate, but will be good news for the park and its users. However, some neighbors objected to the project and to the associated cutting down of some trees. A group of residents of the nearby Torres del Parque, which rise behind the bullfighting stadium, filed a lawsuit which has stopped the work.

It's a real pity for long-suffering Independence Park. The avenue's bridging project appears to be terribly expensive and poorly designed - it forms more of a wall than a bridge - but it is already halfway finished and demolishing it is the worst possible option.

The half-finished bridge over 26th St. connects
Independence Park, on the right,
to the Museum of Modern Art, on the left. 

And today's El Tiempo adds another element, reporting that the stalled bridging project has also blocked the extension of the TransMilenio corridor east to University station. That's depriving thousands of university students and neighborhood residents of transport which their taxes have helped pay for.

The residents of the Torres del Parque - who have also filed a second lawsuit which prevent musical concerts in the bullfighting stadium - should face the fact that their delicate sensivities are damaging the quality of life for many thousands of other Bogotá residents. Or, if the residents won't see this, then the judges handling these absurd court cases should, and toss them out.

It's also worth observing that the bridge project is a good ways away from the Torres del Parque, and not even visible from most of the apartments. A bit ironically, like the avenue-bridging scheme, the Torres del Parque were designed by Rogelio Salmona.

View from the Museum of Modern Art of the half-finished 26th Street bridge.

Police stand in Independence Park beside the wall of the unfinished roof over Calle 26. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Wasted Space?

Assassinated Radio Comedian Jaime Garzon looks across the empty lot at 26th St.

While Mayor Gustavo Petro talks about making central Bogotá denser and higher, this huge space along 26th St. is sitting empty.

The area was cleared when the avenue was widened for the ill-starred construction of the TransMilenio line to the airport. Lots of properties, probably including homes and small businesses, were demolished. But, paradoxically, this huge swath of land on the south side of 26th has been left empty and unused.

Corruption? Incompetent surveying? Bad planning? Or, perhaps the city does have plans for the land, altho they show no sign of it.

Meanwhile, it's become a huge wall for advertisers and graffiti artists, including the creators of a portrait of assassinated radio comedian Jaime Garzon.

Whatever the land's fate, the city better move quickly, before squatters build homes or vending shacks on it.

Radio comedian Jaime Garzon was assassinated in 1999 by right-wing forces, shaking the country. His killing is still being investigated.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Bogotá's Elegant New Pedestrian Bridges

Bridges frame the church atop Monserrate.

As part of the eternally-unfinished TransMillenio extention to the airport, the city built several of these elegant pedestrian bridges over 26th Street/Carrera 3a above Parque de la Independencia, near the Universidad Jorge Tadeo. (The area has no distinct name).

Anyway, the bridges strike me as elegant additions to the neighborhood, even if they don't seem to be heavily used - yet.

Meanwhile, the TransMilenio line, already more than two years behind schedule, is still far from completed. The replacement of Carrera Septima's bridge over 26th St. received lots of attention and was completed efficiently months ago. But the expansion of the Carrear Quarta bridge has received much less attention and seems to be dragging. That job is necessary to extend the 26th St. TransMilenio line to La Candelaria.

Meanwhile, construction has not even started on the last two kilometers of the line to the airport. That piece is supposed to be completed next year, altho a connector shuttle is running.

A bridge points toward the Colpatria Tower, Colombia's tallest building.

Expansion work on the bridge over Carrera 3, necessary to extend the TM line to La Candelaria.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

When Will TM Roll Down Decima?¡

Pedestrians walk past the vacant lanes awaiting TransMilenio buses. 

When then-Mayor Samuel Moreno started the TransMilenio work on Carrera 10 and Calle 26, the red buses were supposed to be rolling in 2010. Today, the 26th St. line is functioning partially, but Carrera 10 is still vacant, its TM lanes serving as broad bike lanes but little more. The stations are mostly finished, but probably suffering vandalism, as those on 26th did. 

The trouble, say planners, is that the Museo Nacional transfer station is far from finished, leaving the TM buses with no way to turn around at the north end of their runs. But the station isn't expected to be finished until early next year - a long time to wait amidst the avenue's chaos, congestion and pollution. 

It sure seems that there must be a way, even if it means renting a private parking lot, to allow the TM buses to turn around and get the Decima corridor working this year. 

A good, wide bike lane while waiting for TransMilenio. 

Traffic chaos on Carrera 10 con Jimenez. 

Going nowhere...very, very slowly. 

On La Decima, a girl tries to sell something to trapped passengers. 

Ave. 30. This is the way Decima is supposed to look. 

Working on the Museo Nacional station, which will be underground.

Will the city phase out these belching buses?

The corner of Jimenez and Decima has turned into a canvas for muralists, and a stage for musicians. 

This is a developer's vision for the corner...less chaotic, but less colorful. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

TM on 26th St: Too Expensive, Too Late and Too Little - But Finally Rolling!

A TransMilenio bus rolls west on 26th St. - But it won't get to the airport. 

Some two years behind schedule, after years of scandal and mismanagement, red TM buses finally started rolling along Calle 26 toward (but not to) the El Dorado Airport.

The Calle 26 TransMilenio line was originally supposed to go into operation in 2010. But then-Mayor Samuel Moreno clearly mismanaged the project and allegedly pocketed kickbacks from the contractors (and is now doing jail time for that).

Many of the vacant stations have
been graffitied and vandalized. 

Today, the line finally started rolling - but only very partially. Because the stations sat empty and unused for so long, many were vandalized. As a result, the TM buses are only stopping at two of them. Also, the Seventh Ave. bridge over 26th has yet to be completed (altho it is close), and so the buses can't reach the street's eastern end, in La Candelaria. Finally, conflicts between different levels of government have blocked the construction of the two westernmost TM stations, which will connect the system to the airport. Those are supposed to be completed early next year.

A TransMilenio station being inauurated yesterday. 

Over recent months Calle 26th's unused TransMilenio lanes have been used as de-facto bike lanes. That's no more.

Workers put finishing touches on Carrera 10's TM line. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

A Strange Spot to Hula Hoop

This young woman chose a strange spot to hula hoop, underneath a massive machine working on the bridge replacement on Seventh Ave. Her escapade was evidently part of a school project, as a friend was videotaping her.

In contrast to the circling hula hoop, work is actually progressing on the way-behind-schedule and far-over-budget bridge work, part of a project to extend TransMilenio to the airport. The new bridge is supposed to be operational in a few weeks. But even when TransMilenio begins running on 26th St., it will use only two stations, because the rest either have construction problems or have been vandalized during the long wait to be put into operation. And, several more stations must still be built to reach the airport. Conflicts between different levels of government have delayed that work, which is supposed to start before the end of this year.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Bridging the Gulf on La Septima

Workers lay a huge beam across the bridge over 26th St.

Today, bridge construction on La Septima reached a landmark as workers laid the iron beams bridging the gap over 26th St.

Graffiti taggers managed to get to this beam.

The bridge and the new lanes below it are are part of the project extending the TransMilenio express bus system to the airport. The construction has a long way to go yet, and I don't see how it can be operating even partially by June, as Mayor Gustavo Petro has promised. But at least it's taking shape.

About 80 days left to go (hopefully) on the project.
The countdown sign's second digit has fallen off. 

Ave. Septima still contains huge pits, where they're building the Museo Nacional transit station. City leaders say that won't be completed until early next year. Let's hope. The whole project was originally supposed to be operating in 2010. The delays, cost overruns and alleged corruption have ex-Mayor Samuel Rojas and his brother, a senator, in jail.

But all this digging and building may be only a hint of what's to come if the city next starts out on two more TransMilenio lines, a light rail on La Septima and - the mother of all infrastructure - a subway.

Ciclovia users look into one of the huge excavations on Seventh Ave.l

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Raising the Roof on 26th St.

After years of construction, delays, scandal and budget over-runs, a massive concrete platform is finally taking shape above 26th St. just east of 7th Ave.

The view from Seventh Ave. 

The structure will, I'm told, be covered with gardens, connecting the Parque de la Independencia on the north side of Calle 26 with the National Library and Museum of Modern Art on the street's south side. Below it will run a TransMilenio express bus line toward the airport.

The project has encountered many bumps along the way. The contract was first issued to a company owned by the Nule brothers, who are now in prison facing corruption charges. Mayor Samuel Moreno and his brother are also in prison over the same scandal.

And from Carrera 5, above the park. 

But now the project is advancing, albeit slowly, and the TransMilenio line is supposed to be operating by early next year - altho they'll still be two kilometers and three stations short of El Dorado Airport.

Neighbors of Independence Park have also objected to the project, because of the number of trees cut down during the work.

The completed project will be a nice contribution to central Bogota, particularly once the city and universities expand cultural activities in the blocks south of 26th, which only a decade ago were a red light district. However, one can question whether the massive investment of this project could have been spent more effectively by, perhaps, buying up some empty lots in a poor neighborhood and turning them into a city park.

The partially-built platform, with the Modern Art Museum behind. 

An important man's bust in Independence Park, with the planetarium behind it. 

Neighbors have objected to the cutting down of trees in the park. 

There's still lots of work left to be done. 

Workers on a platform with the Colpatria Tower behind them. 

Workers on the platform sillhoueted against the sky. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours