Pre-emptive measures

The Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) decision to allocate some of its own land for use as free parking spaces, especially in the capital’s heavily congested areas, is a commendable step.

GAM has said it is allocating land it owns, including areas near Abdoun, Medina Munwarah Street, Abdali and the Raghadan tourism complex, to be used for free parking.

This decision comes with the expected entry of no fewer than 400,000 vehicles from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states.

Free parking will surely ease traffic jams, especially during the high summer season when expatriates and tourists flock to Jordan to visit their relatives or spend their vacation in relatively cooler weather conditions.

But even free parking spaces require management; otherwise, they become unruly.

A nominal fee for the use of such new parking spaces may have to be charged in order to have in place some supervision system.

Installing parking metres is also a great idea. Metres are universally used to regulate parking, and Amman cannot remain an exception for long.

New regulations are also in the making for valet parking to ensure that adequate parking space is provided before licensing such a service.

All in all, GAM is working to ease pressure on the streets of Amman, and what remains is the urgent need for motorists’ cooperation.

Discipline on the part of motorists and their abidance by traffic regulations is key to ensuring smooth flow on the streets and preventing gridlocks.

Motorists are the ones who would make any parking policy succeed or fail depending on their willingness to exercise caution and respect others.

Jordan is still in the middle of the summer season and Eid Al Adha, the feast marking the end of the Muslim pilgrimage, is expected in early September, when pressure on the capital’s streets will become even more pronounced.

Many weddings and graduation parties are held at this time of year, contributing to increased traffic.

Pre-emptive measures by GAM and motorists must start as of now and not wait until driving and parking problems worsen.