Of traffic, again

Jordan expects no less than 100,000 vehicles to enter the country from neighbouring Arab states at the start of the summer season, a yearly occurrence with which the country is accustomed and has to cope.

At the same time, around the middle of June, Jordan, like the rest of the Muslim world, will begin the holy month of Ramadan, a period during which traffic tends to be chaotic and drivers less tolerant than normally.

Authorities, including the Greater Amman Municipally, assured us now, as they did so often in the past, that the country is ready for the cars expected to flood the country during this summer.

Having heard such assurances before, citizens would be interested to know what practical measures were taken to deal with the projected traffic increase that will, no doubt, increase the woes of drivers. 

To the habitual Amman inhabitant, nothing much seems to have changed to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.

Street conditions are the same, no rapid transportation system has seen the light of day and no policeman is seen strictly enforcing traffic laws.

Yes, traffic police are absolutely necessary by roundabouts, but it would be equally needed a few metres away, where lanes split in different directions and where some citizens, thinking themselves smarter than the law-abiding drivers, push their way illegally from a third lane, creating even worse jams.

Resigning ourselves to the fact that the worst is coming, knowing that it is coming and not being prepared for it is unacceptable.

There must be solutions that can help alleviate the traffic situation, but is there a will to enforce them?

Maybe our summer guests could be asked to drive on alternative days, based on the even or odd car number. After all, they come here for a holiday, so they can afford to rest on alternative days and allow Jordanians some breathing space.

Or perhaps enterprises with many workers will consider different — half an hour difference, for example — starting and ending work hours for their employees, to avoid clogging the streets at certain times.

Those in the domain must be aware of solutions adopted by big metropolises. Some of these solutions could be considered for Jordan to avoid, summer or no summer, the huge traffic problems that we encounter daily.