The city of Riyadh has entered a new chapter of traffic problems. In this phase, the citizens or rather the victims of the dysfunctional road system are taking charge of the situation themselves and working to solve problems in order to save their lives, sustain their investments and ensure that their interests are looked after.
A lively example of what I am referring to can be seen every evening in the street across Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Center in Riyadh. The center’s administration decided to hire the services of a private security company, which has set up guards to direct cars in the traffic jam that takes place in the area each night. The security guards ensure people do not park their cars randomly close by. Amusingly, sometimes the officers may even allow two-way traffic in the normally one-way street to prevent traffic jams in surrounding streets.
It’s the same situation night after night without the police or the Riyadh municipality working toward resolving the problem.
I’m not trying to hold Al-Habib Medical Center responsible for the situation although they are to be blamed for not providing enough parking area for patients and visitors. They also have a habit of converting neighboring residential buildings into medical centers. I strongly believe that the responsibility lies heavily on the investors, the municipality and the police department.
The continuous shrugging of responsibility by these agencies are complicating things in Riyadh and other cities across the Kingdom. Things will only get worse and people in Riyadh will soon be forced to confront a dilemma that will even threaten the city’s economy and disturb their peace.
There is no excuse that justifies the municipality’s persistent carelessness in addressing the problem and making no effort to have a strict and clear system to penalize traffic violators. The main cause of traffic jams lies in the fact that the municipality gives licenses to hospitals, banks, schools, restaurants, governmental bodies and businesses to establish themselves without giving due consideration to how much parking space is available in the specified locations and what sort of areas they fundamentally are.
The municipality doesn’t seem to have any problem in turning residential buildings or areas into hospitals or schools. The municipality has also neglected streets and public parking areas for investors and shop owners to do as they please.
There has to be an administration that ensures the availability of public and private parking spaces. A new procedure needs to be in place to address all relevant issues whenever a new project is considered for licensing.
Meanwhile, the police department in Riyadh seems to be extremely busy and since Al-Habib Medical Center’s security officers have proven their worth in controlling traffic, I think the city’s police officers need not worry.
