Dhahban Marine Park requires strict supervision, say Jeddawis

JEDDAH — A number of Jeddah residents have claimed that factors like poor organization of traffic, overcrowding, lack of parking space and a large number of illegal vendors have been impacting negatively on the Dhahban Marine Park. “There is not enough parking space. There’s only a small area and the rest is dirt. It’s also congested with people due to poor organization. I came to this park twice and found that things are getting worse, and we citizens want a nice place to rest and spend our weekends in,” Nayef Al-Shehri, a citizen was quoted by Al-Madina Arabic daily as saying. Raed Al Harbi and Abbas Al-Subaie echoed Al-Shehri and said: “Having a park is one of beautiful things for us. But concerned authorities must supervise them and not to neglect. There also has to be close monitoring in Dhahban Park. “We have visited the park several times and there is no development or organization. The place is chaotic and full of random stalls selling junk food,” they said. Obadah Al-Badawi and Nadil Ahmad said that there were no signs on the road to indicate that there is a park. They also said that the area suffers from bad organization and traffic congestion. “The bridge leading to the park is very narrow and creates terrible traffic congestion because there is only one lane that fits one car only,” they said. They said there is no sufficient space for parking and the roads around are very bad. They stressed that the neglect and lack of organization outside the park will be reflected inside and this will be like other parks abandoned by visitors because of their neglect.