Aug. 31 is recognized as Black Peoples and Afro-Costa Rican Culture Day, a national holiday that commemorates the 1920 convention of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, or UNIA, held in the U.S. State of New York. During the convention, delegates adopted the Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World.

Afro-Costa Rican Culture Day is an official public holiday in Costa Rica. As a result, many private companies and most public offices, including banks, clinics, embassies, institutes and municipalities, among others, are closed on Monday.

Transportation officials said the temporary suspension of the driving restrictions reflects lower traffic volumes in San José during the holiday and is intended to help ease congestion throughout the capital.

The weekday driving restrictions are scheduled to resume on Tuesday, Sept. 1, along Route 39, commonly known as Ruta Circunvalación, the highway that circles the capital.

Under the program, vehicle circulation is restricted from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. based on the last digit of a vehicle's license plate:

• Monday: Plates ending in 1 or 2.

• Tuesday: Plates ending in 3 or 4.

• Wednesday: Plates ending in 5 or 6.

• Thursday: Plates ending in 7 or 8.

• Friday: Plates ending in 9 or 0.

There are no driving restrictions on Saturdays or Sundays.

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