Return to Another Garden

As I wrote previously, the Floating Garden of Tlallipan is a wonderful project, but I have my doubts as to whether or not it will be maintained.  It made me think about another linear park, the Ecoducto, which runs between the lanes of a busy freeway, the Miguel Alemán Viaduct.

A park in the middle of the freeway

The park follows the course of the Piedad River.  The river was polluted and a flood risk, so it was enclosed in pipes when the freeway was built in the 1950s.  The Ecoducto was opened in 2017 on top of the tubes which carry the river.  The recycled river water is used to irrigate the gardens of the park.  Even though the Ecoducto is a short walk from my apartment, I had not walked along it for quite a while.  Last week I decided to see how well it has been maintained over the years.

I walked a short distance up Insurgentes to the park entrance on the west side of the avenue. The park continues on the other side of Insurgentes, and its total length is almost a mile. 

Along the avenue is this new addition... a sculpture of a bicyclist created from plants.

 

The sign at the entrance, which explained the park, is defaced with graffiti and completely illegible.  Not a good first impression.  The letters above the frame say, "Un río pasa aquí." (A river runs here.)

This sign has also been defaced.  Ironically, it says, "Take care of your park".

I enter the park.

A group of city workers was tending to the gardens and sweeping the walkway.

The lady in the photo above has a regular broom, but most workers use brooms made from twigs tied to a pole.

The gardens on either side of the walkway were, for the most part, attractive and well-tended.

The freeway is now almost hidden from sight by the flowering vines that were planted by the fences on either side.

This bench with the initials used for Mexico City is looking rather shabby and is also marred with graffiti.

A gaping hole in the sidewalk

So, how would I rate the Ecoduct nine years after its opening?

I am happy to see that the plants are generally well cared for, and that the park is free of litter.  However, due to the ugly graffiti and some other defects, I would give it a grade of B-.

Street Art from the Floating Garden

Yesterday I wrote about the Floating Garden of Tlallipan, an elevated, lineal park that is above the tracks of a Metro Line.

While walking the length of the park there were many examples of street art visible on nearby buildings.  Some of the art was obviously the work of the city government that went on a painting binge prior to the World Cup this summer.  "Capital de la Tranformación" (Capital of Transformation) is the government's slogan for the city.

But there were other pieces of art that were probably done by private artists.  I wonder if they were already there, or if they were painted especially for the World Cup and the opening of the Floating Garden.

The New Floating Garden

Many visitors to Mexico City are familiar with the so-called "Floating Gardens of Xochimilco", a network of canals and islands on the far south side of the city.  They are a remnant of the "chinampa" system of agriculture used by the Aztecs in which man-made islands would be created for farming in the shallow waters of the lake which once covered most of the Valley of Mexico.

Today however, the city boasts a newly-opened elevated, lineal park called the Floating Garden of  Tlallipan.  It runs a little over a mile from the southern edge of the Historic District south to the Chabacano Metro Station.  Line 2 of the Metro emerges from underground, and the Floating Garden is built above the Metro tracks.  The name comes from the fact that the route follows that of the pre-Hispanic causeway which ran from the Aztecs' island capital of Tenochtitlan to the lakeshore town of Tlalpan.

I wanted to check out this new project.  I took the subway to the Pino Suárez station.  Exiting the station I then walked a short distance outside and then climbed a flight of stairs which led to the beginning of the Floating Garden.

Work is still continuing on the project, and there were crews of gardeners planting more plants.

The gardens on either side of the walkway are quite attractive with a variety of flowers and other plants.

Dahlias, the national flower of Mexico

A cactus in bloom

There are several fountains which are enclosed in capsules to prevent evaporation.

The gardens are decorated with figures of animals that are native to Mexico.

The axolotl, the salamander-like animal that inhabits the canals of Xochimilco and which has become a trademark of Mexico City.

A soccer-playing axolotl

The xoloitzcuintle (xolo for short) is a breed of dog that was venerated by the Aztecs.

We know it as the Mexican hairless.

The Tlaloc frog, named after the Aztec rain god, is an endangered species.

(It doesn't really wear a pre-Hispanic headdress.)

A hummingbird

Another hummingbird, formed from succulent plants

A cocomixtle, an animal similar to a small racoon

A teporingo, a tiny rabbit-like animal which inhabits the volcanic slopes of Mexico

There are also a large number of figures of dogs, among them the rescue dogs Proteo and Frida who gained the status of heroes for their work in finding survivors in the wreckage of earthquakes in Mexico and around the world.

The gardens include playground areas for the children, stands selling organic vegetables, and even tables for playing chess.

The path passes right through an upper level of the San Antonio Abad Metro station.

After more than a mile, the park comes to an end at the Chabacano Metro station.

The Chabacano station is very large and busy.  Three Metro lines intersect here, two of them above ground and one below ground.  One of the stops on the underground line is within walking distance of the apartment, so returning home was very easy.

The station has been completely renovated.

I was very impressed with the Floating Garden.  I think it will be a very nice asset for the city IF... (and given the way things work in Mexico City, it's a big if)... IF the park is maintained and not allowed to fall into disrepair.  Fingers crossed.