Big thanks for setting up this forum I think this will help the DBC generate thoughtful discussion and hopefully facilitate the proposal process of getting awesome ideas approved and funded!
It pretty much says it all in the title. I am a recently acquired car owner in the valley and now coming acquainted with the shared frustration of other drivers in the area. These roads absolutely decimate cars, they are rugged, hilly and long. The costs for repairing all these vehicles, I believe, could be greatly mitigated by finding long-term solutions to improve the road conditions.
A few reasonable solutions I would love to see happen include:
Gutter landscaping for proper water management
More frequent maintentance of ruts and potholes
Additional graveling for the road
I think this is an issue that affects all members of the DBC in some way, even if you don’t drive I’m sure all of you have benefitted from the aid of a motorized vehicle at some point. This would be not only a great improvement for our daily lives but an excellent gesture for the local families that have been here for much longer than us.
The intention behind this post is to gather ideas and solutions that could perhaps be turned into a formal proposal for the DBC. I am unaware of the best methods to achieve these ends - Is it something we facilitate through the municipality or do we contract someone to do it? Maybe we roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves?
Please if you have ideas let’s gather them and make something great happen! I would happily champion a proposal in this direction once we have a clear path forward. (yes it’s a road pun)
I want to mention from my 20 yrs in costa perspectives…
Not only yes indeed the roads wear the transportation maintenance costs up, but having witnessed the paving of the highways when i first arrived, also came more speed upon which folksdrive, equalling more accidents, and human+animals being run over, as well the multipied drives to n fro… my herstory has had years of observations in various regions of this formula of Speeding up the life we came here to slow down, from planning once a week shopping for supply and neccessities, to the voluntary simplicity ofthinking thru needs vs wants, and simply going inner instead of driving the machines… just sayin
Another part of personal experiences isthat there are 8months of rains where maintenance is crutial, and many not localized people leave most of that time to return with roads in developement, and lost much of the material into the rivers due to mismanagement when its most required, where the lastre and gravels are no longer available nearby and are becoming more expencive to haul from. Farther away
Hola - Love this… Better roads = less maintenance. & = greater caution possibly required. It used to be that the municipailty came around and collected donations once a year… I haven’t seen that in a year plus. I’d love to find out who the municipality road coordinator is, have dinner and drinks with them, and see how we can work together to improve San Sal -Escalaras-tinamaste roads. BERTHA thanx you all. (Her hips are sore, she says…)
Tim has championed a project through the DBC proposal process to request funding support from the collective and the greater community for improvement of the roads.
While this proposal is specific to paying for the additional gravel on the roads within DLuz, we can expand the scope of it as the resources/funding/plan for how to improve which roads develops further!
wow so nice to know this exists! I would like to see a new project with a broader scope that could benefit the valley in general - DBC and beyond! I would like to see some love on the San Sal - Tinamaste road and maybe via a second project or secondary funding goal we can push towards the San Sal - Escaleras road. How easy is it to negotiate with the municipality? @Tien
@Desiree
I wouldn’t go as far as paving any of the roads around here but you have a valid point that making the roads better encourages speeding - maybe there’s an intelligent way to approach this?
So i have personally seen this in SantaTeresa where I witnessed during my 1 year stay there, the main road go from gravel to paved and it was poorly done. Leaving barely any room for parking on the side and the road was built up very high and making it much more difficult to get on and off the road without scraping the bottom of the vehicle.
The benefical part if yes the paved road is smooth, less bumpy and is easier on the vehicles but a few people have died within the first week of the paved road being finished.
@Desiree So I totaly hear you about increasing accidents. What I would propose is putting in speedbumbs and appropriate road signs indicating where they are with Yellow painted lines if paved. If paved the design of the pavement must have an all around consideration for it to make sense and not cause anymore issues while trying to solve one; entrance changes, speed safety, rain, durability vs cost, parking, walking path next to road where cars are going faster etc.
Or just have more regular maintenance keeping the gravel road more smooth.
So my experience is that the Muni doesn’t have a scheduled road maintenance program in Costa Rica? And I’m referring to ALL of Costa Rica and all roads… Maintenance is based on who you know.
Mitch you’re not the first person in the valley to you want to organize road maintenance and I can share a name and phone number of this gringo couple who actually organizes collecting of funds and hiring private machines to fix the roads. Another key point is road maintenance has to happen relative to the rains. specifically speaking the work needs to happen at the very beginning or the very end of the rainy season or the ground is manageable and able to be shaped and formed. two more weeks from now things will be too dry to do this. Thankfully the dry season is short.
I don’t know how to attach their contact info so I’ll just send it to you directly Mitch and she can give you info on the annual maintenance schedule
From what I’ve experienced, roads are generally resurfaced in the following manner. The local desarrollo (town association) from each pueblo makes a collection from neighbors in the region and/or holds a fundraiser event to pay for the lastre (rock material). They then put in a formal request with the Municipality, for the use of their machines. When the muni can fit it into their schedule, they arrange a date with the desarrollo who purchases the rock for the muni to deliver and apply. Yes, as Dave mentioned, this is usually done at the beginning or at the end of the rainy season.
While people do drive faster on paved roads, I would encourage us to modify any resistance to the idea. Poor quality roads are good for no one. Paving the roads (when well done) is a massive benefit to the community. We might want to look deeper into the prospect of creating more signs and public awareness/training campaigns which are valuable in keeping things safe. However, besides the massive regional savings it offers to car owners, the dust that makes it into people’s homes and lungs is terrible and if we get the opportunity to pave the road one day, I hope that the car-less people in the community will accept the progress with gratitude. Think about the mountainsides that need to be carved into every time they want to lay several kilometers of lastre. It’s terrible, and longer-term solutions provide massive value for the earth, not to mention the people, their homes, their families, and yes their cars and pocketbooks.
Fast driving is a serious issue here. It’s been impacting me to see people drive so fast on these roads. Those whose cars are regularly kicking up dust, are driving too fast and being a nuisance to their community. The max speed limit on these roads is 40km/hr. I usually drive around 30-35. If you are driving on a steep uphill or in front of someone’s house, you should consider 25km/hr your ideal speed limit. If a driver is passing a pedestrian, they should be creeping by them even slower. Folks tend to complain about the state of the road, but it’s those who drive any faster than this who are the problem, not the roads.
I come from a region of ticos where everyone drives slow, except maybe the youngest of them. They resurface the roads there once every 4-6 years. The driving habits in this valley sadden me. You can’t actually drive fast enough through the valley to get from one end to the other and save more than a few minutes on your day. It’s just not worth it! The extra consumption of fuel and subsequent mountainside that’s being consumed is not worth it. The road problem is, in my opinion a human habit problem. I think we should invest in a massive valley-wide signage and education campaign around this, before we consider improving the roads, at all.
it brother!! thanks 
fer ur presence & experience! 