In the residential district that I live in, there had been quite a few empty lots in the recent past. But these are gradually disappearing as some form of construction activity has begun to take place at most of these sites.
And just a few hundred meters away lives a dear friend whose home is bordered by four streets of various width. But he is a frustrated man nowadays. For across three of the four streets, the previously empty lots have begun to take up construction activity.
Now that alone would not be worthy of a column, but for the fact that most of the construction of the homes at these sites is taking place on the streets in front of the lots. And that makes for difficult navigation for the established residents of the neighborhood.
Piles of steel rods stretched over wooden planks often form an impregnable barrier. Mounds of mixing sand take up a great portion of the street width, while building blocks occupy what else remains.
Amidst all this are the motorized construction equipment such as cement mixers, cranes, etc., that often block any access through these public streets for days on end.
And quite often, one has to put up with the dirty looks of construction workers who exhibit annoyance if you happen to stop them from their activity as you gingerly push your vehicle forward to avoid any unfortunate incidents.
And that explains the frustration of our dear neighbor. Recently, while he was venting his anger at the total absence of several construction laws, we were interrupted by his brother who had dropped in the neighborhood to check up on the progress of his house being built across the street.
And needless to say, the brother was just as guilty as the rest, for there was enough building material and debris on the street in front of his lot to warrant a vocal protest from his sibling at the lack of responsibility and civic behavior these new tenants have on their soon-to-be neighbors.
“But why get so worked up? Everybody is doing it!” responded our friend’s sibling. And indeed everybody else seems to be doing it. But his response did cause us to ponder in amazement. Here was a responsible individual, learned and educated, and yet a hellion when it came to his own corner on earth. In the pursuit of establishing his residency, he is simply voicing the attitude so many others today who simply don’t give a damn to what the neighbors think or feel. Whether the activity at his site is inconveniencing his neighbors or not, is not his concern. After all, isn’t there a municipality to check up on these things?
And yes indeed, where is the municipality with all this going around? Have they simply disapproved along with the cold winter breeze?!
Jeddah is becoming jaded in the face of such civic apathy.
Perhaps our municipal leaders could pick up a few things from their counterparts in the Eastern Province.
During a recent visit to a construction site in Al-Khobar, I saw all the construction activity confined to within the site, and the perimeter bordered by aluminum or wooden sheets. No material or debris could be seen thrown across the sidewalks bordering such sites.
Is that perhaps too much to ask for? Or has our municipality become jaded as well?
— Tariq A. Al-Maeena, [email protected]
