OPINION: Lack of planning means city pain

hoyporhoy – La Prensa, May 20

BOTH the central government and the Municipality of Panama are working on  all kinds of infrastructure, from a Metro line to new sidewalks that will wholly redefine the urban landscape and daily life in our metropolis.

However, the rulers seem to have adopted as their own the slogan of another administration that said: “Annoyances pass, the works remain”. This aphorism falls  short, because the works follow government after government and the temporary disappearance of parking lots, or sidewalks in  public  areas such as Urracá Park, punishing  citizens by  forcing  pedestrians to walk on  the street, or depriving  vehicles of their spaces in the area of ​​the Einstein Head, in El Cangrejo.

What about the Central  Food Market, San Felipe Neri and the Seafood Market?

Simultaneously and without planning we have lost, although temporarily, that which made us part of a community. The changes must improve what already exists, and at the same time should treat people who inhabit the city with consideration.