DAMMAM, 29 January 2004 — The massive expansion work in Dammam and Alkhobar has changed the skylines of the two cities. One group which is upset at the expansion is traders and shop owners in Dammam and Alkhobar who say that their business has suffered seriously. The streets which have been dug up, the innumerable detours and changes in the pattern of traffic movements have affected the volume of sales in several shops in Dammam and Alkhobar.
Although expansion work in Alkhobar has almost been completed and traffic is running more smoothly on both Dhahran and King Abdul Aziz streets, fatal accidents involving pedestrians on both have become routine.
The fear of being struck by a speeding vehicle is common among shoppers at Jawahara Market and on King Khaled Street and in Subaikha. “These accidents affect our sales,” says Abdullah Al-Issa, a ready-made garment dealer in Jawahara Market.
Shop owners on King Khaled Street as well as King Fahd Street say that the expansion has virtually divided the city.
Fayez Al-Marzouq, the owner of a software shop on King Fahd Street, says that his sales have dropped considerably since the new wide streets have been open to traffic and the pedestrian bridges over the street connecting both ends were demolished. Many shop owners say that if the present situation prevails, the whole shopping culture will undergo a drastic change.
“People will not shop in the market but go instead to malls. We will be finished,” said Bilal, a textile merchant in busy King Khaled Street.
Expansion work in Dammam began last year with the widening of King Saud Street. King Saud Street has always been a traffic bottleneck and the authorities decided to convert a section of King Saud Street into a one-way street.
Shop owners on the street say that last year for almost two months the street was closed and their sales fell considerably. “And when the street was finally reopened to traffic, the authorities decided to make it a one-way street and this has ruined our business completely,” said Hadi Al-Dosarry, owner of an electronics shop.
Shahnawaz Ali Khan, manager of a photography shop, echoed Hadi’s sentiments and said that his business had also suffered tremendously after the street was expanded and became one-way.
What has been a problem for the shop owners has been a blessing for street vendors. “The authorities are doing nothing and the street vendors have occupied the entire sidewalk area, blocking our shops and causing our sales to fall,” said Zayed, a cloth merchant.
Pedestrians are also unhappy, saying that the wide sidewalks meant for them have been taken over by street vendors and they are thus forced to put themselves in danger by walking in the street.
“The vendors’ cheap goods attract many customers and the entire sidewalk becomes crowded with shoppers who not only block the sidewalk but also the entrances to shops,” said Ali Al-Qahtani, a fruit seller.
Shop owners in the women’s market and the gold souk are also unhappy about the pace of work in those areas. “The entire area has been dug up and all approaches to the market are closed. Business has seriously decreased and if the roads are not opened soon, we will be ruined,” said Ali Al-Mohanna, a jeweler in the gold souk.
The shop owners say that many of their customers are going to shopping malls where they find everything under one roof and do not problems with parking or one-way streets. “Who wouldn’t want to shop where things were so easy?” asked Al-Mohanna.