Downtown Shop Owners: Long Lines At International Bridges Are Bad For Business
Some commuters say the borderland’s international bridges are overwhelmed with too many travelers and too little resources at crossing checkpoints. Now Sun City shop owners are also losing patience with the long lines, saying they’re bad for business.
Gustavo Tavera is one of those business owners. He told ABC-7 that up to 80 percent of his sales take place during the holiday season.
“Basically we wait all year long for this season,” he said.
Tavera said he and others in the downtown area have missed out on sales because of the long wait times at the border bridges. He says when the wait times go up, business goes down.
“Instead of making three trips, they’ll make one. We’re talking about one third of what they used to spend,” he said.
Laura Lopez, a Christmas shopper who crossed the Downtown bridge from Ciudad Juarez yesterday with her family, told ABC-7 it took them 4 hours to get to our side of the border by foot.
El Paso Port Director Bill Molaski said officials are trying their best to improve the flow of foot traffic at border crossings. He said they’ve already made changes and are planning on making more.
“We went up from eight lanes to 14 lanes for pedestrians. We have a US citizen lane, we have a trusted traveler program in the city of El Paso (called the SENTRI pass), and as a matter of fact we’re getting ready to do another renovation to try and improve the flow of the pedestrians coming through,” said Molaski.
He said increased security checks account for some of the long waits. “We have to screen everyone. We’re the tip of the spear, we’re protecting our nation. It’s not like we’re not trying to assist somehow with the increased security that we’re required to do on a daily basis.”
Pedestrians are encouraged to remove their coats and jackets before going through security to speed the process along. Officials also recommend that travelers put their cell phones away and have their travel documents readily available.
