JEDDAH: Pedestrians in Jeddah streets find it increasingly difficult to walk on sidewalks thanks to the sheer negligence of authorities concerned combined with greedy promotion styles adopted by companies.

Safe walking on a sidewalk is being blocked by many factors including different kinds of promotion boards, abandoned construction materials, potholes and loose bricks.

“Obstacles on sidewalks such as promotion boards and guide posts is found commonly not only on the roads in districts but also on the main streets and at the places set apart for jogging,” Suleiman Al-Saadi a city resident told Arab News. Al-Saadi said the billboards and signboards are placed in such a haphazard manner that they block the comfortable walking and even deprive drivers of vision on some roads.

“It is unfortunate that the sidewalks in Jeddah no more serve the original purpose for which they were constructed. Even universally approved standards, particularly the ones aimed to assist the blind and the disabled, are neglected,” Ahmad Abdul Aziz Zaidan, member of the Engineering Firms Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Arab News.

Zaidan added that the commercial interests of advertising companies were given priority over the safety of citizens. The interests of pedestrians were thrown to the winds when promotion materials are installed. Some boards even are placed in such a way that they could even lead to road accidents, the engineer said.

He stressed the need to redesign sidewalks in line with international norms. He also pointed out that strict regulations were needed to regulate the selection of locations to install billboards or signposts. “The redesigning of pavements or selection of safe locations for promotion installations are matters that could be accomplished by experienced Saudi engineers,” he said.

Abdullah Ismail, a shop owner in a crowded street in the city, told Arab News that there were many occasions when pedestrians were injured by metal wires dumped on the pavement opposite his building.

Most of the civil engineers and architects met by Arab News were unanimous to say that the pedestrians in most cities in the Kingdom faced the similar issues such as billboards, shades and fixed seats, protuberances caused by flawed construction, unscientific distribution of beautifying plants and their poor maintenance.

They also pointed out that traffic islands on roads did not provide opening for the exit or entry of pedestrians. Unscientific installation and poor maintenance of light poles, which sometimes exposed wires, threatened the safety of pedestrians, they said.

According to Adnan Sarouji, a Jeddah-based engineer, sidewalks are seldom repaired in a systematic manner. Even if some repairs are carried out, they are done months or years after they are damaged, Sarouji added. “Sidewalks with big potholes pose serious threat to the lives of pedestrians. During the rainy season when the holes are filled with water an unsuspecting pedestrian could stumble and trip to the hole, especially in areas where street lighting is poor,” Sarouji said.

The engineer also stressed the need to increase the width of sidewalks as he found that the present width, especially in crowded streets, was insufficient. “The standard width should be 1.5 meter that enables three men to pass at the same time. On the other hand, the width of sidewalks on many crowded streets in Jeddah is just below half a meter,” the engineer pointed out.

Jeddawis are also unhappy over the shortage of walkways fit for jogging.

Architect Abdul Munim Mustafa said it was not a big challenge for municipalities to improve pedestrian walkways in line with international standards.

“Municipalities can also pave exclusive walkways with marble or mosaic stones and with some aesthetic sense, as found in some advanced countries,” Mustafa added.

Arab News also noticed that street light poles on sidewalks in a number of streets were not regularly repaired or maintained. On the other hand, the municipal regulations of 1994 pertaining to street lights stipulate that the contractor who installed the street lights should also regularly clean, paint and maintain the lights.

Pedestrian bridges across some major streets are also in a pathetic state. For instance, the wooden bridge on the Madinah Road north of the ‘H’ Bridge, is one the most saddening examples of official negligence or incompetence. The bridge is in such a dilapidated state that even a pedestrian familiar with the deceptive planks on the bridge, let alone a disabled or stranger, would think twice before daring to cross it. The steps are broken and loose and boards missing.

A wrong step can send a pedestrian tumbling to the deep floor underneath.  After the sunset, inside of the bridge is totally dark because there is no lighting. Any trickle of light coming from the street is blocked by promotion boards of a leading company on both sides of the bridge.  One wonders who is supposed to light the bridge that links the Rowdah and Faisaliyah districts across the busy highway — the municipality or the advertising company that denies even a trickle of light to pedestrians.

Contrastingly, the advertising company’s lack of respect for the pedestrian safety is clearly noticed in the way the advertising board is installed blocking any light falling on the bridge.

There are specific regulations to ensure the public interest while installing billboards and other promotion materials. The fifth clause of the Saudi promotion regulations stipulates that promotion materials should in no way adversely affect vehicular traffic or pedestrian movement.

According to its 11th clause, a promotion company is responsible to remove damaged such boards and fix them within 24 hours after the damage occurred. The advertising party should also fulfill all safety specifications and should not disfigure the appearance of the location while carrying out promotion activities, according to the 16th clause, while the 18th clause says anything done contradicting the above regulations is null and void. However, the above mentioned regulations are not applicable in the case of any advertisement undertaken by the government.