Residents of San Juan de la Rambla protest the neglect of the district

Residents of the coastal areas of San Juan de la Rambla – La Rambla, Las Aguas, and the center – are tired of waiting for the authorities to pay attention to their simple requests. They want speed bumps, pedestrian crossings, new trash cans, and better street cleaning. Therefore, they decided to protest to show how their area is neglected by the local authorities.

The protest will take place on Saturday, October 18, at 11:00 AM at the entrance to La Rambla. People will come out with posters saying "The Coast is Completely Neglected" to remind everyone of their demands, which have long been ignored. "We only get promises," says the head of the local association, Juan José Moreno Ramos.

According to him, officials always respond that "everything is being done slowly, the technical department can't cope, and there are not enough people." Residents say they are not asking for anything expensive to be built, but only for the necessary services to be provided.

They last met with government officials on Tuesday at the local municipal office. The meeting was attended by Mayor Juan Ramos and councilors Jonay Méndez, Juan Siverio, and María García.

Residents also complained about the terrible condition of the La Caleta playground, which is full of rodents, and the swings and slides are broken and rusty. "We are told that there is a repair project, but the money for it is being allocated very slowly," people complain.

In addition, they are asking for a canopy to be installed at the bus stop in the Las Aguas area so that children do not get wet in the rain while waiting for the bus. They also want special lanes to be created on the roads to force drivers to drive slower.

But once again, their requests were not heard. "We were told again that there are not enough people and everything is being done very slowly. We don't believe it's true," says Juan José Moreno Ramos.

The only positive news was that the local municipal office, which had been closed for four months, reopened on October 15. This is very important for residents, especially the elderly, who find it difficult to travel to the town hall in San José, as the bus only runs there twice a day.

The authorities promised that councilors would receive people in this office once a week, as was stipulated back in 2001, when the town hall was moved from the center of the municipality. Residents say they have been putting up with this attitude for a long time, but the situation has worsened recently. They do not want to get used to the fact that their area does not have a normal park, security, and cleanliness. "We will not allow this," Moreno emphasizes.

Last year, people were so frustrated that they decided to create a local association to actively defend their rights. It was officially registered in January this year.

In April, they already achieved their first success – they saved the pediatric service at the local hospital, which they wanted to close due to the "small number of children."

It is worth mentioning that in 2001, the city council decided to move the town hall to San José. The then mayor, Manuel Reyes, explained this by the fact that more people live in the upper part of the city and there are more shops there.

This decision divided the city into two parts. Now, 25 years later, residents of the center feel that history is repeating itself. They do not want to take anything away from the residents of the upper part of the city, because they are part of the same municipality and have the same rights. They only want the authorities to pay attention to their problems and make the city a single whole.

So that everyone can take part in the protest, the association is organizing a free bus that will depart at 10:15 AM from the bus stop on Liberty Avenue. The organizers advise wearing reflective vests and, if possible, bringing posters, whistles, or pots, "to make noise and show our strength."