Arab News, Tuesday, Nov 22, 2022 | Rabi Al Thani 27, 1444
New rules for smoother movement in historic Jeddah
Saudi Arabia :
Major areas in Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district are being reorganized as part
of a strategy to ease movement by the Saudi Ministry of Culture.
The ministry has started implementing the first
phase of the program to control traffic and pedestrians in a number of streets
in the district.
Authorities plan to give Jeddah’s old city the
feeling of an open-air museum by creating a pedestrian route across the area.
Represented in the Bab Makkah — or Makkah Gate —
area, the new system aims to facilitate the flow of pedestrian and car movement
while preventing street vendors and pedestrians who violate regulations from
entering the area.
Locations for loading and unloading goods for
shops in the area have been allocated in front of the main entrance to Al-Falah
Schools and Al-Mazloum empty lot.
The road passing through the middle of Bab Makkah
will have monitoring checkpoints at entrances and exits to prevent violating
vehicles from reversing.
The regulations also oblige vehicles to park
according to traffic instructions in longitudinal and parallel parking, while
preventing double parking.
In addition, the regulations will allocate safe
places for pedestrian paths and golf carts in the area by placing iron barriers
to separate the movement of cars and pedestrians.
Traffic rerouting will make the historic
buildings, mosques and markets stand out by creating an uninterrupted historic
space that can be enjoyed by pedestrians.
Jeddah’s historic district, known as Al-Balad, was
placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2014.
Founded in the seventh century A.D., Al-Balad once
served as a center of trade and commerce in Jeddah. But most of the ancient
walls that surrounded the town, and the souq within, were torn down in time.
There are more than 450 buildings within the walls
of the city, 56 of which are in urgent need of repair.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pledged SR50
million ($13.3 million) to support the restoration of the buildings as they
represent a major part of the Kingdom’s ancient heritage and are part of a
significant tourist site.