Storeowners have seen a decrease in the number of US tourists who visit the city to shop, eat or just hang out with friends. Tourists say they fear that they would be victims of drug-related violence or end up infected with the H1N1 virus.
Renovations
underway now to city plazas and streets should be completed by the end of 2010,
according to officials from the Camara Nacional de Comercio Servicios y Turismo
(CANACO).
“Only a few of the plazas have been improved on, but there is still some work to do on the others as well as some streets to be repaved,” said Jesus Refugio Lopez Encinas, secretary for CANACO. “It is a work in progress, but everything has turned out according to plan.”
The
city plans to improve the downtown Plaza de las Palomas and Plaza Miguel
Hidalgo and will build a new pedestrian bridge for tourists to cross back and
forth from the U.S. port of entry into Nogales, Sonora.
Plaza de las Banderas, an area that used to be filled with taxis and would-be immigrants wanting to cross into the U.S. has been converted into a new pedestrian walkway for shoppers to enter stores on both sides of the street.
Local construction companies hired to work on city renovations have completed two new turnarounds that connect two main streets in Nogales, according to CANACO. Both streets, one headed towards the city from the U.S. point of entry and the other coming from the city to the U.S. point of entry are separated by stores and other buildings. This makes it difficult for drivers to cross from one street to the other.
The new turnarounds were built so that drivers can exit onto them and drive over buildings onto the other street.
“It is hard for drivers and for us to get to the other side of the streets,” said Esteban Valenzuela, a driver for Taxis Internacional. “Now we don’t have to wait for one turnaround that is nearly at the end of the street.”
Streets such as Calle Campillo and Calle Ochoa, have been paved and smoothened.
Most of the money for these improvements has come from Mexico’s Impuesto al Valor Agregado, a value-added tax that is applied in cities across Mexico, according to Encinas.
The tax rate for the Mexican region bordering the U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas is 10 percent, however, that will increase to 11 percent beginning Jan. 1, 2010.
“We hope that this increase in tax rate will help us fund and receive more money for upcoming projects we have for Nogales, Sonora,” Encinas said.
One public improvement that is part of the renovations and that residents are looking forward to is a new water system for those who live atop the city’s hills and who don’t get enough water.
“People who live up there have to come down and actually buy water because they are not getting enough or any water at all,” Valenzuela said. “Those who purchase water usually buy 50 gallons or whatever amount they think will last them the week or two.”
Nicholas Roberts, a Marana resident who would often visit Nogales’ restaurants said he felt a bit unsafe visiting Nogales, Sonora, in part because of the drug-related violence in the country.
“It was horrible
to hear or read in the papers about all the people, especially innocent people
visiting the city, being killed because of the drug cartels,” Roberts said.
“For me it was better to wait a bit. Nogales isn’t going anywhere.”
Roberts has not visited the city to see the new renovations but plans to make the drive to Nogales before the Christmas holidays.
“I’ll definitely have to go to get some small gifts for family and friends,” Roberts said.
While business is still slower than it has been in the past, storeowners say they detect an up tick in shoppers recently, mainly because people are hearing about the city improvements and want to come down to see them in person.
“My mother, who frequently visits the city to shop and walk the city, was the one that told me that city streets and historic plazas looked different,” Roberts said. “What impressed her the most was Calle Pesqueiria because the area is no longer filled with taxis and other vehicles that would block entrances to stores and shops.”
Armando Cortez, a shop owner who sells antique furniture, said his store suffered when tourists began leaving.
“When
everybody started leaving, my store wasn’t really selling anything and it was
hard for me to maintain a business,” he said. “Having these new additions to
the city will help out myself and other store owners and businesses.” Cortez
also said his sales have slowly increased within the past few months.
Kelsey Laird, a University of Arizona student who visits the city once or twice a month with a few of her friends to purchase home decorations such as wall paintings and furniture, said the city is starting to look nicer and cleaner.
“We
came to shop two weeks ago and you really can tell that Nogales has made some
good improvements. Everything from city streets to building walls,” Laird said.
“The parking is going to be a plus. It’s difficult sometimes to find parking
during the weekends because of all the tourists coming to shop and look
around."
Juanita Salcedo, who sells jewelry at her curio store, said she hopes sales will increase when the city improvements are completed.
"It's going to feel like a brand new city has been built and the nicer it looks, the more people are going to come, feel safe and the more money we will all make," Salcedo said.
Shoppers like Roberts and Laird look forward to visiting Nogales, Sonora, when it is complete to enjoy its new plazas and public services.
"It's definitley going to be better to drive on paved roads and I'm pretty excited to see what their new museum is going to have inside it," Roberts said. "Nogales has lots of history behind it and it will be neat to see it all."
