Santo Domingo’s municipal government is moving forward with an ambitious public space restoration project, reclaiming pedestrian pathways that have been blocked by unauthorized private use for decades and turning them into attractive, accessible linear community parks. According to Mayor Carolina Mejía, the city of the National District first launched the sidewalk recovery initiative in 2025, and has steadily expanded its scope to address growing public space access issues across the capital.\n\nThe program is overseen by the Mayor’s Office through its specialized Directorate of Public Space Advocacy and Use, which is tasked with enforcing public space regulations and returning blocked areas to community use. To date, the initiative has completed restoration work in multiple high-traffic and residential neighborhoods, including La Yagüita, Villa María, and Mata Hambre. Teams have also carried out full sidewalk clearing around the Dr. Luis Eduardo Aybar Health City, removing a wide range of unauthorized structures – from informal market stalls and private workshops to permanently placed personal benches – that had cut off pedestrian access to public walkways for years.\n\nOnce blocked sidewalks are cleared, the city immediately launches follow-up cleanup and beautification efforts to create usable, safe gathering spaces for local residents. Upgrades to the reclaimed areas include new energy-efficient street lighting, protective bollards to prevent future encroachment, community murals, native tree plantings, new public benches, and professional landscaping, turning formerly unusable pathways into welcoming linear parks that benefit the entire neighborhood.\n\nLooking ahead, the next phase of the initiative will focus on Viuda de la Cruz Street in the Villa Consuelo neighborhood, where crews will restore a 400-meter stretch of blocked sidewalk. This phase will also add a cultural component: custom murals highlighting Dominican national heritage, as well as celebrating prominent Dominican figures from the worlds of arts, sports, and public service.\n\nMayor Mejía specifically highlighted one of the initiative’s most notable success stories: the full recovery of sidewalks along Nicolás de Ovando Avenue. These walkways had been illegally occupied by local businesses for more than 25 years, cutting off access to pedestrians heading to the nearby Los Taínos Metro station. Today, the restored sidewalks are once again open and accessible to thousands of residents and commuters every day, demonstrating the tangible impact of the city’s ongoing public space recovery work.
Santo Domingo expands sidewalk recovery program with new linear parks
