Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — Citizens have criticized Makkah municipality for wasting millions of riyals on the construction of pedestrian bridges, saying most people do not use them.

They gave three reasons for people not using pedestrian bridges: Height, poor location, and lack of awareness.

Omar Ba Akhdar, a Makkah resident, told Al-Madina Arabic newspaper that there is a need to create awareness among people on using pedestrian bridges instead of crossing roads and highways endangering their lives. He called for a joint awareness campaign by the Traffic Department, Municipality, Education Department and universities.

Hassan Ali, another resident, said that if bridges are located far away from residential and commercial areas people avoid using these.

Ahmed Bello, a Makkah resident, said long staircase with too many steps to reach a bridge make it difficult for the elderly and sick to use it.

Emad Bin Ali Al-Saadi, spokesman of Makkah municipality, said that 17 pedestrian bridges have been constructed in different parts of Makkah city.

“We have upgraded seven bridges providing them with escalators for the elderly and sick,” he said.

“Work on a new bridge over Omar Qadi Road has been stopped due to technical reasons. We are in touch with Saudi Electricity Company to solve the problem,” he added.

Three new bridges have been included in the current budget.

“We have started setting up escalators to encourage more people to use pedestrian bridges,” he explained.

Col. Bassim Bin Amin Al-Badri, director of the Traffic Department in Makkah, said the Traffic Department has signed a partnership agreement with the Education Department to enhance traffic safety awareness among students by conducting intensive campaigns.

“We’ll organize lectures and distribute brochures to increase traffic awareness among students. We’ll also teach them traffic rules and regulations,” he told Al-Madina newspaper.