Observing a right

The Greater Amman Municipality wants to set closing times for public places, like, for example, cafés, night clubs, wedding halls, in response to repeated complaints from people living close to such establishments who have to put up with the inconvenience such proximity creates, mostly noise.

The closing time proposed by the municipality is midnight in the summer and 11pm in the winter.

When such public establishments are situated in residential areas, as they very often are in Amman, the troubles they cause are many folded.

Noise is, of course, a most serious nuisance. And knowing how celebrations are often observed, with “festive fire” — forbidden, but like many other illegal things still practised — a matter of “honour”, no wonder citizens complain.

Adding to this nuisance is the issue of parking. With few of these places having their own parking lots, and these rarely large enough to accommodate the patrons of these establishments — cars end up taking precious space from residents of the area.

The citizens’ concerns are legitimate and the municipality’s move, if implemented, reasonable.

It may annoy a few late-night owls and disrupt a way of life — not the healthiest, but quite habitual in some countries, particularly those enjoying warmer weather in the summer — but it might also be one way of starting a more beneficial lifestyle.

The problem may have started with the municipality itself, which gave licences to such places to function in residential areas.

It should have foreseen the public complaints and should have attempted to regulate commercial undertakings by a better zoning policy.

Of course, the problem is old and now residents pay the price.

Truth is, people living by noisy public establishments have all the right to complain. They have the right to a good night’s sleep and relaxing moments in their homes.

The correct thing to do now is enforce the closing hours for such public places, but offer to relax the rules when they move away from residential areas and provide their own parking space for customers.