3 Ways to Fix Traffic Woes on Paseo de Montejo

Mérida’s tourism and hotel sectors have ideas for major changes to the Paseo de Montejo after years of gridlock caused by controversial traffic medians and barely used bike lanes. And they are pushing hard for revisions that would restore the city’s iconic boulevard before it was rebuilt in 2021.

Jorge Carrillo Sáenz, president of both the Tourism Business Council and the Paseo de Montejo Foundation, met with Gov. Joaquín Díaz Mena this week to present three key proposals. He wants the state to remove the concrete medians with planters that narrow both lanes of Paseo de Montejo, reactivate the dormant State Traffic Council, and develop a comprehensive redesign plan to restore the avenue’s status as what he calls “Yucatán’s Champs-Élysées.“

The bike lane on the Paseo de Montejo takes you only so far.Photo: Lee Steele / Yucatán Magazine
Tourists take a ride on the Paseo de Montejo in Mérida, Yucatán.Photo: Lee Steele / Yucatán Magazine
Masked for the Pandemic in 2021, a carriage conductor is led by his horse past the twin mansions on the Paseo de Montejo. FilePhoto: Lee Steele / Yucatán Magazine
Jorge Guerra joined several artists each Sunday on the Paseo de Montejo.Photo: Facebook
CFE workers, staying overnight on the Paseo de Montejo, were on standby as Hurricane Beryl approached. 2024File Photo: Lee Steele / Yucatán Magazine
A giant mechanical man appears to make its way down the Paseo de Montejo, a new entry for Mérida’s Noche Blanca in 2024.Photo: Courtesy
A cultural center honoring Fernando Castro Pacheco is opening on the Paseo de Montejo in Mérida.Photo: Courtesy
Aerial view of Palacio Cantón on Paseo de Montejo with Mérida’s hotel zone in the background.Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
The Remate de Paseo de Montejo in 1993. To the left is now an extention of Impala Café and the traffic island has been enlarged to include the Montejo statue.Photo: Diario de Yucatán archive
Mérida’s 2022 pride march became the Paseo de Montejo’s biggest annual event.Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
A horse-drawn carriage in Mérida ambles alongside a bike path on the Paseo de Montejo in 2022.Photo: Lee Steele / Yucatán Magazine
Women march along the Paseo de Montejo in 2022.Photo: File

The medians have created headaches for drivers since the previous state administration installed them. Tour buses now avoid the avenue entirely because of tight lanes and no place to park. Regular vehicles scrape their tires on the structures when making turns at roundabouts.

“The medians make circulation complicated because they reduce traffic lanes,” Carrillo Sáenz said. “They’re so narrow that vehicles hit them with a tire when making intersection maneuvers.”

He operates the Hotel El Conquistador on the avenue and said the state government under former Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal built the largest median directly in front of his property as punishment for his criticism of the project.

The proposals include broad public participation in any redesign. Carrillo Sáenz envisions input from urban planning specialists, academics, environmentalists, business owners, civil associations, tourism operators, hoteliers, cyclists, pedestrians and federal and municipal governments.

“This comprehensive project has to be different from what’s been done in previous occasions,” he said. “We need to hear opinions about how our Paseo de Montejo should be so it can be better.”

Juan José Martín Pacheco, president of the Mexican Hotel Association in Yucatán, joined Carrillo Sáenz at Tuesday’s meeting at the International Congress Center. He said heavy traffic affects hotel operations when tour buses try to pick up guests for morning and afternoon excursions.

The hotel and tourism leaders have been requesting this meeting since the gubernatorial campaign, when they presented the same concerns to all three major candidates. Díaz Mena, who won the election for Morena, finally scheduled the session after persistent reminders.

Carrillo Sáenz said the previous administration didn’t listen to input from the foundation’s members, who own properties along the avenue and witness traffic problems 24 hours a day.

The medians were supposed to slow down speeders, but Carrillo Sáenz argues speed bumps would have accomplished the same goal without narrowing lanes. The structures have also created maintenance issues. Pedestrian walkways have broken sections that trip people. Poor lighting creates dark stretches. Diseased trees need removal. Decorative paving stones sit misaligned.

The foundation wants the State Traffic Council revived after the previous administration sidelined it. The council previously provided a forum where members could participate in new projects, identify statewide traffic problems and propose solutions.

Gov. Díaz Mena promised to review the proposals with his team, including the secretaries of public safety, infrastructure, tourism and other cabinet officials. Those officials attended Tuesday’s meeting.

“We value the space the governor gave us,” Carrillo Sáenz said. “It was a different response than what we had in the past administration.”

He expects a quick answer since the proposals benefit everyone by improving mobility on the avenue. The comprehensive redesign project would require coordination between state, municipal and federal governments.

When asked if removing infrastructure that reduces vehicle lanes includes the bike path, Carrillo Sáenz said cyclists need not worry. “The bike lane won’t be touched,” he clarified. “We’re only asking for removal of the medians or that they be modified to widen circulation lanes.”

The Paseo de Montejo stretches more than 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from downtown to Highway 231 near the Gran Museo Maya. The tree-lined boulevard modeled after French avenues features mansions built by wealthy families during the 19th-century henequen boom. Many now house museums, hotels, restaurants and offices.

Recent studies show Yucatán’s vehicle fleet grew from 1,034,153 to 1,102,172 between June 2023 and June 2024. Drivers on Paseo de Montejo often wait through three to four complete traffic light cycles at each roundabout just to proceed from one monument to another. The bike lanes installed in recent years, while popular with joggers, leave less room for cars and contribute to worsening congestion.

The tourism and hotel sectors hope the new administration will take action where the previous one refused. For Carrillo Sáenz, the goal goes beyond traffic flow.

“Who wouldn’t want a beautiful Paseo de Montejo?” he said. “It’s worth rescuing our Yucatecan Champs-Élysées so we can be proud of this emblematic avenue of Mérida.”