City government creates emergency task force for Belo Horizonte traffic.
Heavy traffic, streets closed due to construction, subway strike… Driving through the streets of the capital has become a task for heroes. Marcio Lacerda's new decree will create a group to handle emergency situations. Will it work?
Minas 247 - The Belo Horizonte City Hall announced this Friday the creation of the Executive Group for Articulated Traffic Management (Gegat). The group aims to provide greater agility in decisions and measures adopted to solve the serious and recurring traffic problems in the capital of Minas Gerais, especially in recent months.
The Gegat group will include the municipal secretaries of Government and Public Security and Heritage, as well as the CEO of BHTrans and the superintendent of Sudecap. Members of the state government and the police may also participate on a voluntary basis.
In recent days, traffic problems in Belo Horizonte have worsened. The subway workers' strike, which began on Monday, showed that even though the rail transport system is poor in the city, its absence creates serious bottlenecks.
Even worse are the consequences generated by the numerous construction projects that have taken over the capital this year – an election year, not by chance. The construction has led to the closure of several streets, even in the city center and nearby neighborhoods, creating numerous traffic disruptions. According to BHTrans, last year there were 20 traffic interventions, which averages 55 new changes every day. The municipal agency does not have figures for this year, but, due to the increase in closed streets – as a result of construction – it is certainly much higher.