The city of Sana'a is witnessing a choking traffic congestion, which negatively affects traffic and the movement of pedestrians, as the city is flooded with randomness, traffic chaos and planning problems, in addition to street vendors controlling some sidewalks, while others are filled with shop commercials and their goods.
It is also noticeable that parked cars line up randomly on the sides of the streets and neighborhoods, in addition to other construction irregularities that took over large parts of the streets in most places, which obstructs traffic, delays people's arrival to their destinations, and shows the streets of the city as uncivilized and randomly planned.
In the context, Mohammad Al-Masoudi complains about the amount of crowding in Hael Street and the surrounding neighborhoods and areas, as he spoke to "Khuyut", saying: "Most of the times, I cannot reach my house or park my car in front of it, which often forces me to park it in far places." This is due to overcrowding and wrong parking of cars at the entrances to neighborhoods which prevent me to drive through".
Impacts of Traffic Congestion
If you are passing through Hael Street (west of Sana’a), you will realize how narrow the city’s streets are and how crowded they are, although the width of the street is about 14 meters, and it is designated for one lane; That is, five cars can pass together. However, almost one car can no longer drive in one line except after abundant suffering, which ends with some blockage or drivers are forced to change to a destination other than their own, and the matter is no different in the various areas and traffic lines in the city downtown.
The wrong parking of cars along the sidewalks causes severe congestion, especially at noon, and pedestrians have to pass in the middle of the streets, which may expose them to traffic accidents or to "insults and abuses" by angry drivers, while women are subjected to harassment or theft at other times.
Meanwhile, the citizen, Akram Mahmoud, confirms to "Khuyut" that because of the congestion, he is often late to reach his workplace in a private commercial establishment, which exposes him to many damages, losses, and penalties, as Akram takes taxi buses to move from his place of residence to his place of work. Additionally, another citizen touches on an important point, he experienced it when a member of his family suffered from a severe health problem, which required his urgent transfer to the hospital so that his critical health condition would not worsen. However, due to overcrowding and the difficulty of reaching the nearest health facility in a timely manner, the patient’s condition deteriorated dramatically.
The city of Sana'a is considered one of the most Yemeni cities that suffers from traffic congestion and traffic jamming due to the random originations in the streets, the violation and seizure of sidewalks, and the open import that flooded the cities with used vehicles and cars. Consequently, the Yemeni capital turned into a large market marred by chaos, in addition to demographic reasons, population growth, and high internal migration in Yemen from the countryside to the city.
Random Construction
The cause of congestion is not limited to street vendors and stall owners, whose presence has become dense and random and constitutes one of the causes of congestion in many traffic lanes, but rather because of parking cars in neighborhoods and sidewalks, which is another problem that impedes pedestrian movement and obstructs traffic in narrow streets and entrances to neighborhoods.
The situation is not much different in most of the secondary streets and neighborhoods in most zones of Sana'a, due to the crowding of cars and their wrong parking, which obstructs entry or exit from them in a scene of unbearable randomness.
Mahyoob Al-Shara'abi, a civil engineering expert in public works, told Khuyut that the reason for the traffic congestion in residential areas and neighborhoods can be attributed to the problem population explosion and fragile urban planning.
Moreover, due to the narrow side streets, which in many places do not accommodate two cars, and the spread of many construction violations that take up space from the sidewalks, and all residential units lack designated parking spaces for the residents’ cars and vehicles. In rare cases, parking spaces are provided under the buildings, but they do not accommodate more than one car, and this is a problem in itself.
Article (20) of the Building Law stipulates that it is not allowed to approve any building licenses, whether private or public (commercial, residential, or investment), that exceeds five floors or ten apartments, unless the designs for it specify parking for cars within the boundaries of the land as specified in the executive regulations.
Whoever violates the text of the law shall be punished with a fine of no more than 10% of the value of the violating works. Article (9) of the same law indicates compliance with the provisions of the Urban Planning Law related to areas outside the boundaries of the structural and detailed plans, which means the obligation not to create any constructional works outside the limitations of the plans related to the area approved by the competent authorities.
Al-Shara'abi calls on the competent authorities to oblige the owners of residential buildings, commercial places, restaurants and others, to provide private parking for cars, in addition to allocating public parking lots by government agencies for this purpose. He also believes that there is a need to reconsider the state of chaos in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, and to prevent random construction and repeated violations on the streets and sidewalks.
Taking over sidewalks
Moreover, streets suffer from various irregularities practiced by shop owners of occupying the sidewalks, in a way that impedes traffic through them, while the wrong parking of cars along the sidewalks causes severe congestion, especially at noon. As a result, pedestrians are forced to pass through the streets, which may expose them to traffic accidents or to "insults and abuses" by drivers, while women are subjected to harassment or annoyance, and theft at other times.
Citizens believe that the sidewalks are for pedestrians, and they should not be seized from anyone or blocked for any reason, which obliges the responsible authorities to deal firmly with such violations in order to preserve the public right and the maintain the civilized view of the city.
Further, citizen Mujeeb Al-Samae’i considered, in an interview with “Khuyut”, that the seize of shop owners on the sidewalks for the purpose of displaying their goods or placing their promotional adds is the biggest challenge that pedestrians suffer from so that are forced to walk through the middle of the streets, and this is what causes great chaos in traffic.
It is worth noting that the building law in Yemen prohibits placing tables or allocating places in the streets for displaying or storing goods or making umbrellas with the intention of exploiting the street or part of it for any personal use. Besides, the sidewalks are considered a public right, and it is not permissible to violate them or exploit them for the benefit of anyone.
On the other hand, the Traffic Law compels car owners not to park in public streets or places not designated for them, and punishes those who obstruct traffic in any way.
