JEDDAH, 20 August 2007 — Jeddah’s streets are not getting any better. Despite claims by municipal officials to the contrary, the city’s streets still suffer from cracks and are filled with holes and covered with unnecessary speed bumps.

A number of youths say they have delayed buying a new car until the municipality finishes their long awaited “dream” project of smoothing the city’s streets.

The streets are described by residents here as catastrophic to their cars especially in working class areas of south Jeddah. Some residents prefer purchasing Jeeps instead of sedans and sports cars.

Often when there is road construction there are no signs to warn drivers. “I had three tires punctured in a period of four months due to the roads,” said Mohammed Al-Harbi, a resident. “My tires are SR800 apiece and I had to park my car for a few days to come up with the money.”

An unnamed city official recently announced in a statement made to the press that the municipality had fixed 7,000 potholes. He said the municipality has allocated a large budget to fix the streets without citing the sum.

Residents are skeptical of these claims.

“The streets are the same that they’ve always been, and if they say that they had covered up 7,000 holes then there is double that number still out there,” said Yasser Ayed, a local resident.

At a car workshop located in the industrial area in southern Jeddah, Mahmoud, an Egyptian mechanic became sardonic.

“We don’t want the streets to be fixed — it’s making us a lot of money,” he said with a smile, adding that his shop works on at least two suspension systems every day — cars damaged by Jeddah’s lunar-landscaped roads.

It doesn’t rain often in Jeddah, but when it does the puddles disguise these potholes, making matters worse.

Some residents blame the problem on large trucks that roam the streets. “The streets can’t take that extra weight,” said Faris Al-Harbi, whose family business is in construction work.

Residents here called on the municipality to declare war on potholes. Some have even suggested the municipality reimburse car owners for the damages the roads inflict on their vehicles.

Residents also complain about the haphazard contruction of speed bumps in streets.

The municipality has issued new regulations and fines to control the spread of illegal speed bumps, which are often constructed by local residents without consideration for the possible damage to vehicles.

Jeddah is suffering from drivers that drive through neighborhoods at excessive speeds, disregarding the rules of the road. This has resulted in many residents taking it upon themselves to slow down traffic near their homes by building speed bumps.