Esta ley enmienda la Ley Núm. 49 de 1917 para transferir temporalmente la jurisdicción exclusiva sobre un tramo de la Avenida De Diego y la Calle Verbena en la Urbanización San Francisco de San Juan al Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas. El propósito es convertir estas vías en un bulevar para reducir la velocidad vehicular y mejorar las áreas peatonales, revirtiendo la jurisdicción al municipio una vez completadas las obras. Se apropian fondos para este fin y se autoriza la igualación de fondos.
(Approved September 16, 2004)
To amend Section 2 of Act No. 49 of December 1, 1917, to temporarily transfer to the Department of Transportation and Public Works exclusive jurisdiction over the thoroughfares and sidewalks of the stretch of De Diego Avenue from the bridge over Las Americas Expressway in the San Francisco Urbanization sector of the Capital City of San Juan up to Violeta Street and over Verbena Street in San Francisco Urbanization, to convert them into a Boulevard; to appropriate funds for such purposes and to establish a reversion of the purposes of this Act.
With increasing frequency, the San Juan Metropolitan Area is affected by commercial expansion in areas designated for residential use. As a consequence, this entails vehicular density as well as the obstruction of sidewalks in the affected sectors, particularly in the main thoroughfares, and the gradual displacement of the families that live in the periphery of such thoroughfares, due to the inconveniences to which they are subjected and the pressure from persons with interest in acquiring their property for commercial purposes. No doubt, this situation affects the quality of life of the residents.
This situation occurs even in urbanizations subjected in their master deed to easements in equity that establish restrictions on the use of the property and the structures allowed, to guarantee the highest quality of life for the residents. In spite of this, resident associations are frequently forced to resort
to the courts to seek protection against those who attempt to breach those easements.
One of the San Juan Metropolitan Area Urbanizations that has undergone this situation is San Francisco, which is located in a sector that is connected by important thoroughfares: De Diego Avenue and Glasgow Avenue, the latter merging into Lomas Verdes Avenue. This urbanization consists of 457 lots and a parcel of 5.5 cuerdas on which was built the San Francisco Shopping Center, measuring 110,000 square feet, with commercial establishments on the ground floor and offices on the second.
Although the community is well served by the aforementioned Shopping Center, the sector increasingly attracts the interest of persons who wish to establish businesses in the area to such an extent that this has turned into a major problem. This has motivated the Residents Association to seek the protection of the courts on several occasions, at a very high emotional and financial cost. To avoid the problem, the community has proposed the convenience of converting the stretch of De Diego Avenue that crosses the urbanization from the bridge over Las Americas Expressway up to Violeta Street therein, as well as Verbena Street in San Francisco urbanization, into a boulevard, as has been done with other thoroughfares of the Capital. This proposal has the support of the Highways Authority and of the Department of Transportation and Public Works of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Section 1.- Section 2 of Act No. 49 of December 1, 1917, as amended, is hereby amended to add a second and third paragraphs to provide as follows: "(...) In the Municipality of San Juan, exclusive jurisdiction over the thoroughfares and sidewalks of the stretch of De Diego Avenue from the
bridge over Las Americas Expressway in the San Francisco Urbanization sector up to Violeta Street and over Verbena Street in San Francisco Urbanization, is hereby temporarily transferred to the Department of Transportation and Public Works to convert them into a Boulevard. The term 'boulevard' is defined as 'an urban thoroughfare in a residential area whose development favors the speed reduction of vehicles passing through it up to a maximum of 25 miles per hour and which has landscaped areas that stimulate pedestrian use,' pursuant to the Territorial Ordinance Plan in effect in the Municipality of San Juan approved by the Planning Board of Puerto Rico.
The Department of Transportation and Public Works shall coordinate the necessary works to comply with this objective with the Government agencies and corporations. Once the conversion into a boulevard is completed, jurisdiction over the sections of these thoroughfares thus transformed shall revert to the Municipality of San Juan."
Section 2.- The amount of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) from the Public Improvements Fund for Fiscal Year 2004-2005 is hereby appropriated to the Department of Transportation and Public Works to comply with the provisions set forth in this Act.
Section 3.- It is hereby authorized to match the appropriated funds with private, commonwealth, state, municipal or federal contributions.
Section 4.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 335 (S.B. 2808) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Section 2 of Act No. 49 of December 1, 1917, to temporarily transfer to the Department of Transportation and Public Works exclusive jurisdiction over the thoroughfares and sidewalks of the stretch of De Diego Avenue from the bridge over Las Americas Expressway in the San Francisco Urbanization sector of the Capital City of San Juan up to Violeta Street and over Verbena Street in San Francisco Urbanization, to convert them into a Boulevard; to appropriate funds for such purposes and to establish a reversion of the purposes of this Act, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $29^{ ext {th }}$ of May of 2007.
Francisco J. Domenech Director