JEDDAH: With only four pedestrian bridges along Jeddah’s ever-busy Madinah Road, the city’s main artery, many pedestrians are forced to make suicidal attempts at crossing eight lanes of traffic in order to go from one side of the road to the other.
Though a nine-kilometer concrete fence, designed to prevent illegal crossings, replaced the median strip in 2001, people still climb the fence to reach the other side. This is one of the main reasons behind the many traffic accidents that happen on Madinah Road.
People who climb the fence will land over the left lane of the road where vehicles drive at speeds that exceed 120 kilometers per hour.
“I have no other choice but to cross the road almost every day to buy breakfast. The nearest pedestrian bridge is two kilometers away,” said Asim Ziad, a Syrian worker at a furniture showroom in Madinah Road. He said the cafeteria was the only place where he can buy food and drink for him and his colleagues. “It is a daily risk that every one of us has to take,” he said.
Some people prefer to cross the road even when the pedestrian bridge is nearby, according to Saleh Ahmad, a Yemeni shopkeeper in Mosaedia Shopping Center.
The pedestrian bridge is fewer than 200 meters away from the shop, he said, adding that every day he sees people crossing the road without even thinking to walk a short way and use the bridge.
“I can hear car horns and sound of shrieking tires almost daily because of people who cross the road,” he said.
Saleh Al-Dhahri, a private sector employee, said he once witnessed a traffic accident caused by illegal crossing on Madinah Road.
“I was driving along Madinah Road at night and near the Sari intersection suddenly the driver in front of me hit the brakes. The vehicle turned right causing a multicar pileup,” he said, adding that the accident was caused by a man trying to cross the road.
Since that accident, Al-Dhahri said he has always avoided driving in the left lane of Madinah Road so that he would avoid anyone in the path. The same problem exists on Prince Majed Street, which has no pedestrian bridges at all, he added.
According to a statement by the Jeddah municipality, the city will witness more urban development, including construction of pedestrian bridges and pathways. No dates were specified for the implementation of the projects.
