Playa del Carmen Councilwoman Proposes Reviving Under-Bridge Spaces Along Boulevard

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A city councilwoman has proposed rescuing the neglected spaces beneath the bridges along Boulevard Playa del Carmen and turning them back into recreational and sports areas, citing survey data showing local young people feel unsafe in their neighborhoods.

Danna Ramírez Saldaña, the city’s tenth councilwoman, presented the initiative during the general affairs portion of the 51st ordinary session of the Cabildo, held Thursday afternoon. She cited partial results from the 2026 Playa del Carmen Youth Survey, in which 47.5% of respondents aged 16 to 29 identified crime and violence as the main problem in their neighborhoods, while 41.4% pointed to failures in public street lighting.

Ramírez Saldaña said young people need safe, well-lit and accessible places to play sports, socialize and develop. She proposed evaluating the areas under the bridges for use as sports, recreational and cultural spaces.

She noted that the sites are currently in poor condition: some are used as parking areas, and others have been abandoned entirely.

The proposal does not call for immediate construction work. Instead, it asks the Municipal Department of Infrastructure and Public Works to carry out a technical feasibility study and, together with the Department of Territorial Planning, to determine the legal status of the spaces.

The councilwoman noted that the bridge spans themselves belong to the federal Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport.

“Young people need dignified spaces to come together, and recovering a public space means opening up opportunities for children, adolescents and families,” she said.