Rep. Cortney Niland criticizes Segundo Barrio closure during pope visit

One word to describe the Segundo Barrio is dense. During Pope Francis’ visit to Juarez, the area will be closed to traffic from 3 a.m until after the Mass, which begins at 4 p.m.

The perimeter includes Loop 375 to the south, Campbell Street to the west, Paisano to the north, and Coles-First streets to the east.

“Not everybody has the day off that day,” said District 8 City Rep. Cortney Niland, who represents that area. “And if you have a job and you need to get to it, you need to be able to get in and out of your neighborhood.”

What makes the Segundo Barrio so unique is it’s so compact, with a school just up the road from Bowie Bakery, across the street from residential homes. The roads inside are traveled by thousands each day, picking up and dropping off kids at one of its four schools and shopping at businesses big and small. Residents frequent parks, community centers, churches, and the La Fey clinic, not to mention access to the Border Highway and ports of entry.

During the pope’s visit, people attempting to go on with their daily routines will be locked out and residents will be locked in, law enforcement explaining it’s required to keep the possible hundreds of thousands of visitors safe as they try to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis.

“I absolutely believe in safety and I really appreciate the opinion that’s been passed down from fire and PD,” Niland said. “But at the same time, I think there’s a way that we can work with the resources we have to facilitate traffic, protect the pedestrians of the neighborhood, and also to allow our constituency to participate in this historic visit.”

Niland wants to put more emphasis on collaboration, not restriction.

“We’re sitting here professing that it’s ‘Two Nations, One Faith,’ then both nations should be participating in a collaborative manner,” Niland said.