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00:00:00Economist Professor Hussam Ayesh, and we will go
00:00:03to a break. After that, we will open the file
00:00:06of traffic congestion in
00:00:09the streets of the capital, Amman. Please stay with us.
00:00:24traffic flow on
00:00:34and traffic light control in
00:00:36we do not fear
00:02:26manner on
00:02:34Welcome back. The capital priority at roundabouts or Amman is witnessing increasing
00:02:37traffic challenges, which has made the issue of congestion one of the most prominent
00:02:41daily issues that affect the lives of citizens and require
00:02:46and raise the level of traffic safety on sustainable solutions. To talk about the reality of traffic in the capital and the causes
00:02:50We do not fear of congestion and the solutions that the Greater Amman
00:02:53Municipality is working on, we are joined in the studio by
00:02:56And above the sands on the Director of Traffic Operations in the Greater Amman Municipality, Engineer
00:02:58Shadi Al-Rawabdeh. Welcome, Engineer Shadi, and before we start
00:03:02the discussion, let's review the causes of traffic congestion
00:03:05Sir, traffic flow in in Amman's streets through this explanatory presentation.
00:03:12honor in
00:03:21we do not fear
00:03:46Engineer Shadi, welcome again.
00:03:50they go out to How long did the journey take you today Jordan, to get to the TV?
00:03:54Jordan, Sir, the journey started from Shafa Badran in northern
00:03:57Amman to the Radio Broadcasting Corporation, which is located southeast
00:04:01of the capital Amman. It took approximately 40
00:04:04minutes. The distance is 17 km,
00:04:07at an average of 28 minutes
00:04:10per 10 km. Okay.
00:04:13So there's no traffic today.
00:04:16Sir, there is no doubt that the capital Amman suffers from
00:04:20traffic congestion, and this is a natural result for a city
00:04:23of millions like our beloved
00:04:26perhaps this capital Amman. Okay. So Engineer Shadi, what are the causes
00:04:30of the existing traffic congestion? We can
00:04:33talk about it today. There are no rush hours
00:04:36at this time, but there are rush hours in the capital. Yes,
00:04:40there is severe traffic congestion, perhaps. Yes, tell me about
00:04:44the causes of this congestion. Sir, there are several causes
00:04:47and intertwined factors for the causes
00:04:51of traffic jams, including
00:04:53the high population growth in the capital Amman, in addition to
00:04:57the increasing number of vehicles and urban expansion.
00:05:00And the concentration of commercial
00:05:03and educational services in our beloved capital Amman, which is a point of attraction.
00:05:07It is considered one of the attractive cities, in addition to
00:05:10the large number of daily trips on the streets and axes of our beloved
00:05:14capital Amman. Okay, are the current
00:05:17solutions for congestion
00:05:19seen by the Greater Amman Municipality as
00:05:23successful solutions, or
00:05:26do they need to be developed and become more
00:05:30effective? Sir, the Greater Amman Municipality
00:05:33is working on more than one axis in addressing traffic jams.
00:05:37The first is the operational axis, where traffic movement
00:05:40and smart
00:05:43transportation systems
00:05:46our beloved capital Amman are monitored, in addition to engineering
00:05:50solutions that include redesigning intersections
00:05:53engineeringly and widening
00:05:56the main axes, in addition to strategic
00:05:59plans that promote the use of public transport
00:06:04our beloved capital Amman.
00:06:07Therefore, there are continuous efforts by the Greater Amman Municipality in
00:06:11managing the traffic operation and future plans, taking
00:06:15into account the increasing number of vehicles. What are the most prominent
00:06:18measures that the Greater Amman Municipality
00:06:21is taking today to alleviate
00:06:25this congestion, especially during rush hours? What can
00:06:29you do or are you doing currently? Sir, managing the traffic
00:06:32operation in the capital Amman is a shared responsibility between the Greater Amman Municipality
00:06:35and the Central Traffic Department. Therefore, there is
00:06:38direct communication through control rooms in the capital
00:06:42Amman, introducing smart transport systems and using
00:06:46technology to monitor traffic movement and reduce response
00:06:49time on the main axes in the event of any
00:06:53incident on these streets and main axes.
00:06:56Reducing response time increases the efficiency of the road
00:07:00network in the capital Amman and increases traffic
00:07:03flow. So, in your opinion, Engineer Shadi, has the road
00:07:09saturation? Do we now
00:07:11need solutions
00:07:14to address the current saturation, and what about
00:07:17the future, about the coming years? Sir, there is no doubt
00:07:21that there are a number of main axes that are witnessing
00:07:24increasing and continuous
00:07:25demand
00:07:29for travel, especially during rush hours, where
00:07:32these axes witness numbers exceeding
00:07:35the road's capacity of
00:07:38vehicles. Therefore, the Greater Amman Municipality, through
00:07:41its strategy, is working to improve and develop
00:07:45infrastructure, in addition to promoting
00:07:48the culture of public transport
00:07:51and finding an alternative for drivers
00:07:54to using their private vehicles by developing a public
00:07:58transport system in the capital Amman. Okay, the Greater Amman Municipality,
00:08:01in partnership with the Traffic Department, and certainly the Public
00:08:04Security Directorate, how do you deal
00:08:07with traffic congestion periods?
00:08:11Tell us about how you deal with morning
00:08:14and evening rush hours.
00:08:17the capital Amman experiences morning and evening peaks,
00:08:20especially before official working
00:08:24hours. Therefore, a morning traffic plan is put in place
00:08:27and traffic lights are programmed through the Traffic Control Center
00:08:31to increase traffic flow towards
00:08:34the axes that are experiencing
00:08:37increased demand on these axes. There is joint coordination
00:08:41between it and the Traffic Department.
00:08:49Sir, the traffic lights in the beloved capital Amman are smart traffic lights
00:08:52that contain sensors that measure the volume of traffic
00:08:56flow and are programmed automatically, but through the Traffic
00:09:00Control Center, if we notice any anomaly in these
00:09:03traffic lights or on these main axes, manual intervention
00:09:07is carried out through the system available in the Greater Amman
00:09:10Municipality through the Traffic Control Center,
00:09:13which includes operators from the Greater Amman Municipality, in addition
00:09:16to representatives from the Traffic Department, in order to increase
00:09:20the level of participation and reduce response time. So, is there actual
00:09:23manual intervention on a daily basis, or is the programming
00:09:27sufficient? The programming is sufficient, but there are some incidents
00:09:31that occur, for example, if we notice the presence
00:09:34of emergency vehicles such as civil defense vehicles
00:09:38or an emergency that requires manual intervention
00:09:41and increased traffic flow on the intersection areas that are controlled by traffic
00:09:45lights. Okay, Engineer Shadi, how do you evaluate
00:09:47the impact of the existing transportation projects in the capital Amman,
00:09:51such as the Bus Rapid Transit
00:09:53for example? How has traffic movement benefited
00:09:57from it? Has it actually reduced it, or does it need to be developed
00:10:01now? Sir, the Bus Rapid Transit project is
00:10:05one of the strategic projects in the public transport system of the capital
00:10:08Amman. The Bus Rapid Transit project
00:10:13has provided a safe and more regular
00:10:17means of transport for our citizens.
00:10:19Yes, it had a positive impact in reducing
00:10:23the number of cars and the number of trips on the streets and axes of the capital
00:10:27Amman, most notably
00:10:29Queen Rania Street, in addition to the Bus Rapid
00:10:33Transit project between Amman and Zarqa, which also reduced
00:10:36the number of vehicles entering the capital Amman. Did it actually reduce
00:10:40it numerically? Yes, sir, this is a direct
00:10:44result. Yes. In the matter that citizens
00:10:47also talk about, which is replacing
00:10:50roundabouts with traffic lights, I want to ask you, Engineer
00:10:54Shadi, about that the Engineering Department in the Greater Amman Municipality
00:10:58uses to replace such roundabouts
00:11:00with traffic lights. Sir, the Greater Amman Municipality is making
00:11:04continuous efforts to study
00:11:08the capital Amman. Now, when we convert
00:11:11a roundabout to a traffic light,
00:11:14we perform this operation based on specialized
00:11:17engineering traffic studies
00:11:23decision. There are many criteria that
00:11:27are taken into account, such as traffic volumes during
00:11:30rush hours, in addition to the efficiency of the intersection
00:11:34and raising the level of traffic safety, the number
00:11:38intersection. After obtaining all these studies
00:11:41and readings, a technical engineering decision is made to convert the roundabout
00:11:45to a traffic light. Converting a roundabout to a traffic light
00:11:49has two main reasons: first, to increase
00:11:53traffic flow, and second, to raise the level of traffic safety.
00:11:56If you noticed on the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh
00:12:00Circles, the level of traffic flow was increased on these
00:12:03roundabouts. There were also roundabouts that were converted to
00:12:07traffic lights. The main goal was to raise the level
00:12:10of traffic safety due to the recurrence of accidents at the intersection.
00:12:14Okay, away from engineering solutions,
00:12:18what is the message you direct
00:12:21to drivers? Are there
00:12:24actually violations or behaviors
00:12:28that contribute to increasing congestion during the day,
00:12:31during morning and evening rush hours? Sir,
00:12:35the success of any traffic plan in any city is a shared responsibility between
00:12:39official bodies and the behavior of our
00:12:41fellow drivers on the roads. Yes, there are some behaviors
00:12:45that lead to the exacerbation of traffic jams, such as
00:12:49stopping in an arbitrary
00:12:51the roads, double parking, not giving
00:12:56intersections. Therefore, we call on our fellow
00:13:00drivers to adhere to traffic rules and behaviors
00:13:04and cooperate with traffic police and Greater Amman Municipality staff
00:13:07to increase traffic flow
00:13:11the main streets and axes. Okay, Engineer Shadi, in the summer,
00:13:14certainly, there are large
00:13:18numbers of cars that increase on the streets.
00:13:21Jordanian expatriates may come with their cars
00:13:25from Gulf countries, for example, and
00:13:28rented cars. Is there
00:13:32a plan in the summer season
00:13:35to deal with such congestion? I mean, usually,
00:13:38congestion
00:13:40perhaps increases in this last
00:13:44month of summer before
00:13:47schools reopen. Sir, in summer, we also have
00:13:51a peak in rush hours
00:13:53that we deal with in the Greater Amman Municipality and the Traffic
00:13:56Department. We usually see a morning peak and an evening peak
00:14:00related to official working hours. Yes, now
00:14:04with the holiday season and the arrival
00:14:06of our expatriate brothers from abroad, we have started to see an evening peak.
00:14:10Most people, during high temperatures, stay at home, and in the evening,
00:14:15the streets and commercial axes, especially commercial attraction
00:14:19areas where malls, restaurants,
00:14:21and commercial shops are spread. Therefore,
00:14:25yes, we always coordinate with the Traffic Department to put in place traffic
00:14:29plans to deal with these traffic densities, especially
00:14:33at the beginning of the evening rush hour and the end of the evening rush
00:14:36hours, by facilitating the exit of these vehicles from the main axes and streets
00:14:40through the Traffic Control Center, which
00:14:43monitors most of the main axes and main streets
00:14:46and programs intersections and traffic lights. Okay, Engineer Shadi,
00:14:51topic needs
00:14:55to be studied, but do we in Jordan today need
00:14:59more flexibility in starting
00:15:03working hours for institutions,
00:15:06especially in the private sector? Perhaps the government sector has fixed
00:15:09timings, but do we need
00:15:13flexibility in the beginning
00:15:16and end of such sectors? Yes, that's right, sir,
00:15:19and the proof of that is if you remember a while ago there were
00:15:22matches for our national team in the World
00:15:26Cup, and working hours started at ten o'clock. There was a delay
00:15:29in working hours. If you noticed,
00:15:33when all our citizens started at a specific
00:15:36time, the morning rush hour, the capacity
00:15:39of the streets
00:15:42was very low, meaning that the number of vehicles
00:15:45greatly exceeded the capacity
00:15:48of the streets. Indeed, if
00:15:51there is flexibility in working hours, especially for the private
00:15:55sector, this contributes
00:15:58at the beginning. Yes, it contributes to increasing
00:16:01the main axes and streets. Thank you very much,
00:16:04Engineer Shadi Al-Rawabdeh, Director of Traffic Operations
00:16:08in the Greater Amman Municipality. Dear viewers, thank you for your kind attention. Godspeed.
00:22:10Every day we hear a lot about economic challenges
00:22:13and opportunities.
00:22:16We will talk about your problems and see where
00:22:20we have reached.
00:22:25Mashallah, the Rapid Transit Bus has really made us
00:22:28get to our jobs quickly. Oh, I wish government transactions
00:22:34the phone, while you are at home. Our youth's dreams, how can we
00:22:37achieve them and how can we
00:22:39reach them?
00:22:42We will be with them and take
00:22:44their opinions.
00:30:43Good evening and welcome to the News Council from Jordan
00:30:46Television. I am Ahmed Zamqana. Deputy Prime Minister
00:30:50and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, Ayman
00:30:52Safadi, made a phone call with the Minister of Foreign Affairs
00:30:56and Expatriate Affairs in the sister Republic of Yemen, Afrah Al-Zouba.