JEDDAH, 21 March 2005 — The problem of traffic jams is not a new phenomenon that appeared only recently; it has been a problem for many years. But as Jeddah’s population grows along with its number of automobiles, the traffic is backing up.
Officials in Jeddah have not found any real solution to the traffic problem because the current road grid is old and has not been expanded to accommodate the growing number of cars.
Always ready to help, Arab News filled up the car and hit the roads to find out what people in the backups had to say — provided they would stop honking their horns long enough to talk to us.
And area residents have as many suggestions about how to fix the problem as there are cars stopped in front of you on your way home from work.
“The traffic jam problem didn’t exist in the past,” said Muhammad Al-Balawi. “It started to grow after they allowed these limousine cars to operate. The construction of new bridges in Jeddah is essential to ease up transportation problems — especially now that the population is increasing.”
One visitor thought it was basically a design problem.
“When I visited Jeddah, I noticed that there’s street traffic everywhere,” said Saeed Al-Omari, a visitor from Taif. “I think that the reason is because all the important buildings, such as universities and companies, are located in the middle of the neighborhoods.”
He said we should learn some lesson from abroad.
“Industrial and residential areas are located next to each other in contrast to the advanced countries that tend to establish their important buildings, like universities and the industrial projects, far from the big cities. They locate them in the countryside to reduce traffic jams,” Al-Omari said. “I hope they do something like that here and move traffic away from Jeddah.”
Why not just build a bunch of new streets?
“The problem resides in the street design that was drawn many years ago when population density wasn’t as big as it is nowadays,” said Saleh Al-Otaibi, a Jeddah resident. “Today our streets cannot accommodate this large number of cars. Sometimes I wait for more than an hour at the traffic lights.”
He said he is pleased with the improvements on some Jeddah streets, such as the Prince Abdullah Bridge Project, which means that officials are trying to do something to fix the problem.
There seems to be some support for that position among the idling cars.
“Most of Jeddah’s streets suffer from traffic jams, especially on the main roads,” said Ali Al-Kaabi. “The best solution is to design new projects, such as bridges and exit ways, for cars on the crowded streets. I consider the Prince Abdullah Bridge Project an important step toward a solution. I’d recommend more similar projects to be started.”
Why not just get rid of cars?
“Jeddah streets can’t tolerate any more cars,” said Hamed Al-Muzainy. “The layers of asphalt have started to crumble quickly from the large number of cars using it every day. New bridges must be installed and some roads redesigned to make them wider by reducing the shoulders.”
Traffic engineers have some ideas to solve the problem.
“We conducted studies in the municipality to establish an experimental road project and to remove some terminal stations in the pathway,” said Mifreh Al-Zahrani of the Makkah Roads and Transportation Department. “In addition, we will establish a highway by using King Fahd Road as starting point to the airport. We will also provide well-equipped buses for public transportation to limit the spread of cars and taxicabs, but it is still in process.”
The traffic jam is a big problem for everyone in Jeddah, and some say it will just get bigger — and the backups longer.
“If they don’t come up with any plan to solve it, an enormous disaster will occur in the coming years,” said Dr. Hamed Al-Baar, associate professor of the transport and traffic engineering in King Abdul Aziz University’s Engineering Department. He notes that a short-term solution is already in place, but Jeddah also needs a long-term solution.
He suggested redesigning and organizing crossways by establishing double streets or bridges and tunnels to reduce traffic jams.
Besides that the traffic lights are isolated from each other and have become useless. What worked before now makes motorists wait along time at the traffic lights. “That’s why they have to reorganize them and provide new stoplights that work by sensors that change the duration of the light according to the traffic density.”
Why not just a bullet train or two?
Dr. Al-Baar said the best long-term solution is to plan for modern transportation projects, such as subways and express trains that are used in developed countries.
There may not be light at the end of the tunnel, seeing as it hasn’t been built yet, but there is hope that an end to traffic jams is on the way. Hopefully you’ll get out of the one in which you are now stuck before then.
There is one more topic that Arab News could not find an expert to give an opinion on. “Does honking your horn make the traffic jam end sooner?” If we find one, we’ll let you know.
