The Salvemos Parque Forestal Movement issued a statement on Thursday in which they urged to change the layout of Line 7 of the Santiago Metro so that it does not pass under the park.
Let us remember that Metro, the Municipality of Santiago and residents of Parque Forestal reached an agreement last year so that the construction pike and access to the future station would not be located in Parque Forestal.
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However, from the movement they urged that the route not go below the Forest Park.
“We value Metro’s decision to eliminate the station entrance and the construction shaft initially contemplated within the Forest Park and we insist on the need to change the route, so as not to pass under it,” said the movement in the release.
“There are no technical studies that show that the trees will not be affected in a few more years, when the works are finished and that line is operating exactly under such valuable heritage,” they added.
“We believe that an effort can still be made looking for alternatives that favor the care of this green area that belongs to all the inhabitants of Santiago who visit it daily,” they added.
“Appealing to everything that has been exposed up to here over the years, we ask Metro to accept the challenge of what it means to develop a good project, which allows us to continue advancing in connectivity, valuing the way of making the city and preserving and caring for this invaluable park” they commented.
Finally, they pointed out that “now is the time to show technical ability for the benefit of the greater good, finding alternatives to the layout of line 7 without going through the Forest Park.”
The movement will carry out an activity tomorrow in the Forest Park, in which they will read the statement.
Let us remember that Line 7 of the Metro includes 19 new stations (26 kilometers long) that will be located between the communes of Renca and Vitacura.
Layout under the Forest Park
One of the spokespersons for the Forest Park Movement, Daniel Gonzalezpointed to The counter that “there is still a 300-meter path that will pass diagonally below the Forest Park. This goes from approximately a little before Purísima to the height of Irene Morales, approximately. That sector has about thirty trees.”
González explained that “the problem is precisely that the vibration of the trains as they walk through the tunnel is transmitted through the earth towards the trees and first of all we have that the sediments are straining between them, generating a division of sediment, which which does not allow the trees to have a good hold on the ground”.
“The other thing that happens is that the microrrhizas, which are like those little hairs that tree roots have, are very sensitive. You take a root from a plant, a tree, in the sun, those microrrhizas immediately die,” he added.
“These microrrhizae are also sensitive to vibrations. The vibrations of the train cause them to collect, the roots end up dying, they cannot absorb minerals and the tree ends up drying up or rotting. This is already happening in Parque Almagro and in Quinta Normal”, complemented González.
