Buenos Aires Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Roads=== [[Image:Třída_Avenida_9_de_Julio_a_obelisk_-_Buenos_Aires_-_panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|[[July 9 Avenue]]]] Buenos Aires is based on a rectangular [[grid plan|grid]] pattern, save for natural barriers or the relatively rare developments explicitly designed otherwise (most notably, the [[Parque Chas]] neighborhood). The rectangular grid provides for {{convert|110|m|ft|0|adj=on|sp=us}}-long [[square (geometry)|square]] blocks named ''manzanas''. Pedestrian zones in the [[central business district]] such as [[Florida Street]] are partially [[Pedestrian zone|car-free]] and always bustling, access provided by bus and the [[Line C (Buenos Aires Underground)|Underground (subte) Line C]]. Buenos Aires, for the most part, is a very walkable city and the majority of residents in Buenos Aires use public transport. Two diagonal [[Avenue Road|avenues]] alleviate traffic and provide better access to [[Plaza de Mayo]] and the city center in general; most avenues running into and out of it are one-way and feature six or more lanes, with computer-controlled [[green wave]]s to speed up traffic outside of peak times. The city's principal avenues include the {{convert|140|m|ft|0|adj=on|sp=us}}-wide [[July 9 Avenue]], the over {{convert|35|km|mi|0|sp=us|adj=on}}-long [[Rivadavia Avenue]],<ref>[http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/02/26/laciudad/h-05615.htm 'Avenida Rivadavia:Un largo recorrido de contrastes'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627142420/http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/02/26/laciudad/h-05615.htm |date=27 June 2006 }} by Nora Sánchez, [[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|''Clarín'']], 26 February 2006</ref> and [[Corrientes Avenue]], the main thoroughfare of culture and entertainment. In the 1940s and 1950s, the construction of the [[General Paz Avenue]] beltway that surrounds the city along its border with [[Buenos Aires Province]], and the freeways leading to the new [[Ministro Pistarini International Airport|international airport]] and to the northern suburbs, heralded a new era for Buenos Aires traffic. Encouraged by pro-automaker policies that were pursued towards the end of the Perón (1955) and [[Arturo Frondizi|Frondizi]] administrations (1958–62) in particular, auto sales nationally grew from an average of 30,000 during the 1920–57 era to around 250,000 in the 1970s and over 600,000 in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |author=IntermediaSP. 2007 |url=http://www.adefa.com.ar/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990125093012/http://www.adefa.com.ar/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 January 1999 |title=ADEFA |publisher=ADEFA |access-date=9 August 2009 }}</ref> Today, over 1.8 million vehicles (nearly one-fifth of Argentina's total) are registered in Buenos Aires.<ref>[http://www.dnrpa.gov.ar/bolesta1/boletin1021/Pagina%203.htm DNRPA] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603095216/http://www.dnrpa.gov.ar/bolesta1/boletin1021/Pagina%203.htm |date=3 June 2009 }}</ref> Toll motorways opened in the late 1970s by mayor [[Osvaldo Cacciatore]], now used by over a million vehicles daily, provide convenient access to the city center.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mecon.gov.ar/download/infoeco/actividad_ied.xls#'1.10 |title=SS PP'!A1 |access-date=9 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920005341/http://www.mecon.gov.ar/download/infoeco/actividad_ied.xls |archive-date=20 September 2009 }}</ref> Cacciatore likewise had financial district streets (roughly {{convert|1|km2|sp=us}} in area) closed to private cars during daytime. Most major avenues are, however, [[gridlock]]ed at peak hours. Following the [[Economic history of Argentina|economic mini-boom of the 1990s]], record numbers started [[commuting]] by car and congestion increased, as did the time-honored [[Culture of Argentina|Argentine custom]] of taking weekends off in the countryside. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page