Highway Update – Video Posted on YouTube

This video was made by our friends living in San Clemente Eva and Freddi Thiel’s daughter Margarita who is the interviewer and Osca Maceda who is the videographer.  It is in Spanish but the general idea is the negative impact the highway would have on San Clemente.

This was to be played on Ecuador TV as well as a copy given to President Correa with a petition with hundreds of signatures against the construction of a highway on our beach. Eva has said that her last meeting with the powers that be on this construction project have decided to use the existing road through San Jacinto, San Alejo and San Clemente instead of putting a highway on the beach. More updates as I get the information.

Additional Information on Beach Highway Plans

A reader Robert Lamontagne and I have corresponded off-blog about the beach highway situation that I have discussed many times in the past month.

Yesterday he gave me some more information he received from Gary Scott about the proposed plans.

Below is an email received by Rob from Gary Scott. I have been given permission by Mr. Scott to post it and have done so in its intirity below:

——Original Message—–
From: gary scott [mailto:gary@garyascott.com]
Sent: February-09-13 6:38 PM
To: J Robert Lamontagne
Subject: Re: [New post] Latest information on Beach Highway

Latest received”

 
“At a meeting, we talked with the Mayor of Bahia de Caraquez which 
was at a meeting with the Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Publicas 
(MTOP) in charge of the construction of the Manta Bahia highway and 
he has said that many people from the San Clemente area went to a 
meeting pleading that the project of the segment (San 
Clemente-Bahia) and have transmitted their opinion on the impact of 
the highway. So Dr. Carlos Mendoza (mayor of canton
 Sucre-Bahia) says that he has been told that the highway will not be 
done in the segment San Clemente/Bahia. The segment Manta /San 
Clemente will be done, not bothering the beachfront properties. I 
was told by a reporter (that interviewed the Undersecretary of the 
MTOP) that the requests for proposals for construction companies 
should begin in April. So that segment will be a reality making the 
trip San Clemente -Manta’s airport in about 20 minutes and Bahia -Manta
45-50 minutes (from what now is 1 hour and a half).
 
I want to thank Rob Lamontagne for sharing this email with me and Gary Scott for allowing me to repost to this blog.

Latest information on Beach Highway

This is the latest article translated by Google Translate found in elcomercio.com on January 23, 2013 regarding the beach highway planned to run from Manta to Bahia.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elcomercio.com%2Fpais%2FPlan-vial-unir-Manta-Bahia_0_852514753.html

Trouble in Paradise Part 4

This mural reads SAVE THE BEACH. What were those lyrics – paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Trouble in Paradise Part 3

What do you think about an elevated highway right on the beach in San Clemente? This sign illustrates the beach with the highway and without it and asks, what do you think?

I’m still trying to figure out where the money is coming from. What will be the impact on the fisherman, the environment, the other small businesses in town, tourism? This road hurts or destroys tourism, how can anyone, with a straight face, say this highway will help tourism? Who would possibly benefit? And how did they convince those in power.

Somebody commented how interesting it is that it might be easier to transport drugs to waiting boats? Could drug money be behind this?

Right before we moved into our home here in Clemente bales and bales of drugs were found hidden on the rocks on the shoreline very close to our new home awaiting transport by boat.  See the articles below:

http://dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/07/30/ecuador-submarine

http://blogs.razzjango.com/Scoundrel/mexicans-arrested-for-alleged-drug-trafficking-in-ecuador/

Again, what is the motivation behind this highway? I can’t see any benefit to this small community, especially because we already have a Pacific Coast Highway!

Trouble in Paradise Part 2

If the people who live and work here are not happy about the prospect of an elevated highway being constructed on the beach, who is? What is the motivation for a huge project like this? How can anyone think that putting something as ugly as an elevated highway right on a beautiful stretch of virgin beach is a good idea?  This is a poor pueblo- where is this money coming from and who does it really benefit?

Follow the money trail! Everything comes back to those with the money, wanting more money! How sad. And shameful. Hope its not folks from the old country behind this………