DURING the past two weeks in the north of Riyadh, I witnessed two tragic traffic accidents. The first one took place in the early morning. A bicycle rider was lying dead on the ground and was covered with a rug.
As usual, a number of inquisitive onlookers gathered around the dead body. They were just there to look in a naive and inhumane manner.
In the second incident, a pedestrian was run over by a speeding car. He was not only dead but also dangling from the bottom of the car. The scene was total chaos. A number of young men tried to pull him out but could not because they did not have the suitable equipment for the job.
What is really surprising is that we, among all the countries of the world, rich or poor, do not plan the construction of our roads or organize them in a manner that would protect the lives of pedestrians and cyclists.
Why do we not have special lanes for them? Why can we not make special crossings for the pedestrians near the traffic lights instead of this total traffic anarchy that is claiming many lives every day?
How can we plan a gigantic and an important scheme such as the King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project in Riyadh without developing the required infrastructure for the pedestrians and cyclists?
The project consists of a metro and buses that the public will use. The people will have to walk to and out of the stations of the metro and the buses. How can they reach these stations if there are no special lanes or pavements for them to use?
How can people be able to walk if there are no crossings that they can safely use to reach their destinations?
In the advanced countries, there are rules and regulations governing the smooth traffic movement of the pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Someone may ask whether we have pedestrians or cyclists?
This question would have been valid in the past but now it is not. We do now have pedestrians and cyclists.
Furthermore, when the public transport project is completed in the next three years, we will expect a number of procedures to be implemented. Among others, these will include the removal of all the old and smoking cars from the streets to protect the environment and reduce traffic congestion.
With the increase of petrol prices, more and more people may prefer to use public transport, as is the case in many countries of the world.
It is, therefore, imperative that we start early to organize our roads, pavements and crossings. We have to make them suitable for the use of not only motorists but pedestrians as well.
We have to regulate the relationship between the drivers and pedestrians if we really want to maintain the safe use of all means of pubic transport.
Some matters may seem small or trivial at the moment but they are important for the success of all projects, especially the big ones like King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project in Riyadh.
To make this project a success, we have to start thinking of the pedestrians and the cyclists before we think of the cars, buses or metro.
