New plan for better traffic [Archives:2007/1081/Front Page]

By: Nadia Al-Sakkaf
SANA'A, August 28 – The General Traffic Administration of the Capital Secretariat is completing the preparations for the holy month of Ramdhan starting Sept. 13. The on-field traffic wardens in Sana'a who exceed 1500 will be supported by a new batch of graduates and office administrators will be taking field shifts as well.

“The issue with Ramadhan is that we have to stand on a 24 hour alert because many people stay up throughout the night. It gets very crowded towards the end of the month because people are buying gifts and new clothes for Eid,” said Colonel Yahya Shubail director general of the traffic administration in the capital.

The traffic administration will ban cars from passing through a few streets in Sana'a which are likely to receive many citizens such as the well known market place called Jamal Street.

He urged citizens not to cross the roads randomly causing traffic jams. He especially complained about bus drivers and taxis to abide by laws and not park chaotically. “Our biggest problem is with bus drivers and taxis who have no sense of discipline whatsoever and think the whole road is theirs,” he added. The additional traffic officers will help ease traffic jams during Ramadhan, however, drivers and pedestrians have a strong role to play in promoting a better traffic system.

The traffic situation according to Shubail and many other traffic wardens has become worse because of increasing number of cars, while the infrastructure has not improved. Lead by the ministry of interior, a new plan has been devised to solve the traffic problem in Sana'a completely in a 16 years span. Funding of this project which is estimated around 400 million US dollars, has not been secured yet.

Sana'a Mayor Dr. Yahya Al-Shuaibi commented on the importance of such projects as vital, stating that traffic concerns everyone and is the face of the city.

The baseline study of this project was carried by an Arab company. The project has two phases: 2007-2014 then 2015 – 2024, each phase costs around 200 million US dollars.

The main focus of this project is creating adequate parking spaces and fixing the roads and installing smart traffic lights, which will organize traffic according to the number of cars waiting for the green light instead of a fixed time for every road in the junction.
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