This long journey time is a huge problem that the Costa Rican government is working to fix. Specifically, there are at the moment, are projects in motion to expand roads and highways throughout the cities to accommodate more lanes. In addition to this, the government recently implemented a driving restriction based on the last digit of one’s license plate. They call this initiative pico y placa, and it 's aimed at reducing congestion on the roads. Under this law, plates ending in digits 1 or 2 aren’t able to drive on Mondays, digits 3 or 4 can’t drive on Tuesdays, etc. This law purely applies to privately owned cars, whereas exceptions exist for taxis, public transportation and motorcycles. I thought pico y placa was a very creative solution to one of Costa Rica’s most pressing problems.
The present congestion issues in Costa Rica are certainly connected to the local culture and environment. As I mentioned, there are projects underway to increase the width of the roads in the capital. The reason this expansion is necessary is because the roads were never designed for cars in the first place, but rather for horses! The problem is, it’s very difficult to make changes to a city’s infrastructure after lots of development has already occurred. In order to make the necessary changes to the road, buildings often need to be knocked down. And this can lead to disputes that only further delay the efforts of the government to improve the situation.
Another cause of the congestion is the geography of the country. Costa Rica is extremely mountainous and has rivers and valleys scattered all over.
