About 300 million pesos (US $17.4 million) in combined municipal and federal government funds will be spent on public works this year in San Miguel de Allende, including two major local projects that Mayor Mauricio Trejo Pureco said will have important impacts.
Public works in San Miguel de Allende
The first project will renovate the exit to Celaya (Salida a Celaya) by fixing the asphalt, widening the sidewalks and adding planters, Trejo said. The other project will improve the corridor along the José Manuel Zavala bypass in the Olimpo area with sports, recreational and community spaces.
The city has budgeted an additional 210 million pesos (US $12 million) for security expenditures. The mayor said that money will go toward training, technology, tools and uniforms.
No specific timelines for the two public works projects were announced, but Trejo said they will be completed in phases. The goal is to complete them by the end of his current three-year term in October 2027.
Garbage collection changes cause consternation
Bags of garbage were piling up on street corners in several San Miguel neighborhoods over the Jan. 24-25 weekend, sparking confusion and complaints about changes that kicked in after the Tecmed garbage collection concession ended on Jan. 20.
Following the city council’s adoption last fall of an amendment guaranteeing “permanent garbage collection service,” the municipal government announced on Jan. 21 the various days and times that garbage would be collected on 22 different routes across San Miguel.
However, according to comments posted Jan. 22-24 on the city’s Facebook page, the new schedule hadn’t been followed, and there was “garbage everywhere.” Commenters said there had been no garbage pickup at that point in the neighborhoods of San Antonio, San Rafael, El Nigromante, Santa Julia, Itzquinapan and Insurgentes.
The city also announced on Jan. 21 that the big garbage containers that had long been located on Calzada de la Luz between Calle De Volanteros and Calle Hernández Macias had been removed.
The announcement said that waste would be received directly at that location between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Sunday, but that garbage from those who collect waste from businesses would not be accepted there.
Project diverts organic waste from San Miguel’s landfill
An effort to divert some of the estimated 60 tons of organic waste sent each day to the landfill north of San Miguel has signed up 700 people so far, according to Composta SMA, a group that comes to subscribers’ homes each week to collect organic waste.
The program has kept 600,000 pounds of organic waste out of the Relleno Sanitario San Miguel landfill and turned it into compost, Composta SMA said. The compost is then returned to program subscribers and farms or is donated to reforestation efforts to restore landscapes and ecosystems.
Composta SMA said that 3,000 people living in the Palo Colorado area near the landfill have to deal with infections, odors and pollution problems, and that the situation isn’t fair.
“If we take organic waste out of the garbage equation, we will automatically give the people there dignified living conditions,” the group said.
Local immigration office relocated
The San Miguel office of the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) has relocated as of Jan. 2 to a building past the bus station on the way to Cieneguita. The building has no address number, but it’s on Carretera San Miguel de Allende–La Cieneguita, Km. 2.4, in Comunidad Los López.
Those needing to complete immigration processes there will likely have to drive or take a taxi since it’s about 25 minutes from the city center.
The posted hours for the San Miguel INM office are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The telephone numbers are +52 (415) 152-6939, +52 (415) 152-8991 and +52 (152) 152-8985.
Cathy Siegner is an independent journalist based in San Miguel and Montana. She has journalism degrees from the University of Oregon and Northwestern University.
