Carrera Septima's Warning

The new Septima is taking shape...but still has a ways to go.

Is anybody surprised? The pedestrianization of the few blocks of Carrera Septima between the Plaza Bolivar and Jimenez Ave. was supposed to be finished by February. But the project has been prolonged three times now, and is now projected to be completed in August. Undoubtedly, the project's price tag has similarly elevated.

Workers prepare the street's foundation. The excavation
uncovered the part of the old streetcar tracks.

Certainly, the pedestrianization will be a huge improvement, of course, transforming a chaotic, noisy, polluted avenue into a pleasant place for walking, shopping and watching street performers.

But the project's price tag should serve as a warning for advocates of building a subway in Bogotá. Such as project will be infinitely more complex and expensive. Does anybody really believe that it won't take lots longer than the official projections, or cost a whole lot more.

A metro, just like the pedestrian-friendly Carrera Septima, will be great to have. But Bogotá shouldn't embrace the metro based on false or unrealistic premises.

The new street will be nice - once it's completed.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours