QUNFUDAH — Residents of the western coastal city of Qunfudah have accused the local municipality of doing nothing to prevent deadly traffic accidents in the city's so-called "triangle of death". They asked authorities to build a pedestrian bridge over the busy international road and fill potholes. They say none of the three chairmen who took over charge of the municipality in the past five years did take any action to resolve the issue. Saeed Al-Ghamdi, the present chairman, put the blame on the Transport Ministry, which is now responsible for repairing roads. Mohammed Al-Faqeeh said people are afraid of traveling through the Qunfudah triangle. "A large number of accidents have occurred at this place especially due to tire burst. The road has become a death trap for drivers and passengers. Several run-over accidents have also taken place in this site because of the lack of a pedestrian bridge," he said. Al-Faqeeh urged the Transport Ministry and Qunfudah Municipality to solve the problem by adopting road safety measures instead of trading blame. Ahmed Al-Hazmi said residents approached the municipality several times to repair the road filling several deep potholes and construct a pedestrian bridge to save precious lives. "Up till now the municipality has not taken any measure to solve the problem," he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. "We have received only promises from the municipality and in the meantime several people have lost their lives or become handicapped," Al-Hazmi said. Ahmed Al-Muthami said the municipality should have repaired the road and constructed the pedestrian bridge considering the need without the people demanding them. "It's part of the international road that links Jeddah with Yemen. A large number of Hajis and Umrah pilgrims travel by this road. Moreover, there are mosques, shopping centers and companies on both sides of the road," he explained. Al-Ghamdi said his municipality was trying its best to improve services and solve traffic problems at the entrance to Qunfuda triangle. "The responsibility of road construction and maintenance has been shifted from the municipality to the Transport Ministry," he said. Al-Ghamdi agreed that construction of the pedestrian bridge comes under the municipality. "We don't have the authority to allocate funds for the project. We will ask the mayoralty to take up the issue with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to get approval and budget allocation," he explained.
