The failures in the traffic light network in the cities of Kennedy and Bosa are not an isolated case. On the contrary, neighbors, drivers and passengers assure that there has been constant damage at important intersections for several days, significantly affecting mobility and causing monumental traffic jams that, as they warn, can repeat at any time.
The most recent episode occurred on December 6, when from 12:00 p.m. to around 11:00 p.m. massive traffic jams occurred in corridors such as Avenida Guayacanes, Avenida Bosa, 1° de Mayo, Avenida Agoberto Mejía and Avenida Abastos. However, residents claim that the traffic lights have been intermittently out for several days.
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Experience reports collected by Infobae Colombia They reflect a widespread concern: mobility in Kennedy and Bosa is faltering.
A user who commutes between both locations daily said the damage had become part of her routine. “This didn’t just happen today (December 6), the traffic lights have been off or interrupted for days. Every time you go out you know that you can run into an absurd traffic jam. This is no longer a surprise,” said Marina Patiño, a Corabastos employee.
The users’ complaints are consistent with the statements of councilor Julián Forero Castiblanco, who warned a day earlier (December 5) about the deterioration of the traffic light network in Kennedy and Bosa.
The lobbyist revealed that Bogotá has 1,691 intersections with traffic signals, but 93 only function temporarily and failures continue to occur at several critical points.
In addition, there are investments worth millions:
- 2023: $55,918 million
- 2024: $11,825 million
Still, he insists the results are not visible: “The Ministry of Mobility is not doing its best. Today in Bogotá there are 600 agents who take care of collections and street checks, but none of them take care of the damaged traffic lights that endanger thousands of citizens.”he assured.
Forero warns that this damage has already led to accidents, traffic disruptions and possibly even fatalities.
Marina told Infobae Colombia that the usual 45 minute commute turned into a 3 hour drive. “Normally my journey takes me 45 minutes, but this time it took almost three hours. Also, the SITP I was on showed a delay of 120 minutes on the driver’s dashboard, which is something really absurd,” he explained.
Another resident of Bosa emphasized that the lack of working traffic lights required desperate solutions to improvise: “People had to become traffic agents because they never arrived. The drivers themselves got out of the cars and began to give way. “If no one did, we would stay there all afternoon.”he told.
On Guayacanes Avenue, a motorcyclist said there were even people using radios to coordinate the flow of vehicles. “People from the neighborhood or acquaintances, I don’t know, but they were seen using radios and messaging each other to try to organize passage. “This shouldn’t happen in Bogota, the city is in chaos and I didn’t see a single Blue (traffic officer) helping to regulate anything”denounced David Diaz.
In addition to the traffic light damage, several users on social networks reported a complete absence of mobility agents in the affected sectors.
On platforms like X-news like “@CarlosFGalan @SectorMovilidad This is the reality of Kennedy for more than 20 days without traffic lights and the agents are not visible …” They went viral as the traffic jams got worse.
A passenger said Infobae Colombia: “What’s most outrageous is that not a single blue agent was seen. The only ones there were the citizens trying not to stay all night.”.
The problem didn’t start in December. On November 25, the same Ministry of Mobility recognized outages in Kennedy and Bosa due to theft and vandalism of cables and equipment.
Areas such as Portal de las Américas, Av. Ciudad de Cali with Av. Villavicencio and Carrera 79 with Calle 38C Sur have repeatedly caused problems.
Aside from that, On November 16, a massive outage forced technical teams to be dispatched to several points in the city.
Despite the complaints At the end of this note there are still reports of out of service traffic lights in Kennedy and Bosawhich keeps residents on alert.
Citizens fear that if these critical issues are not addressed, The monumental traffic jams of December 6th will not be an exception, but an inevitable repetition.
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