Situated along the southern edge of the San Juan Isleta – one of the island’s most attractive tourist destinations – the Bahía Urbana is an exciting urban regeneration project being sponsored by the Government of Puerto Rico. The project proposes the redevelopment of this underutilized and predominantly industrial area with mixed-use developments including residential, commercial, entertainment, offices, hotel and civic uses covering 540,000 square meters. Steer Davies Gleave was responsible for the transport assessment of the development which included preparing traffic models and incorporating all the proposed transport network interventions. This involved a new way of thinking about transport for a city that is largely dependent on the car. Bahía Urbana is an innovative project that seeks to modernize much of Old San Juan. Recently the first phase of this project was inaugurated; it includes the renovation of the old piers 7 and 8. As you’ll see in the photos, is a modern waterfront on the San Juan Bay, adorned with metal structures, beautiful green gardens and comfortable seats. At the end of the walk there is a sculpture of iron as sea horse, it is the favorite spot for tourists to take a reminder photo. Plans for the Bahía Urbana project included integrating big sidewalks, bicycle lanes, water taxi services, a reduced parking provision scheme and a new light rail transit (LRT) system between Sagrado Corazón Tren Urbano Station and Old San Juan city.
