Residents up in arms over broken pavements

By Paul Tate

AMMAN — Residents of an Amman neighbourhood criticised the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) this week for leaving a trail of debris and broken pavements following the removal of olive trees from the area’s sidewalks last week.

“How can they just come and take away the trees without returning and sorting out the mess,” asked one irate resident in the Gardens District.

“For a week now, our street has been littered with broken paving stones and big holes where the trees once stood… we appreciate the municipality’s efforts to restore the sidewalks but the situation here now is a safety hazard,” said Um Ali.

The mother of three said she now struggles to get her elderly parents in and out of the car due to the debris outside her apartment.

Another resident, who preferred anonymity, said he hoped the municipality would clear up the mess before his parents returned from the Hajj at the end of the month.

“Soon people will be getting ready for Eid and returning from Hajj. How are people supposed to visit us with all this mess?”

The two-year GAM project, which began in early November, aims to uproot an estimated 5,000 olive trees from the capital’s sidewalks in order to facilitate pedestrian access in the city and reduce accidents and allergies.

Responding to the residents’ complaints, the project’s director, Hesham Omari, told The Jordan Times on Tuesday that the municipality is doing everything it can to minimise any inconvenience to citizens and that teams will be dispatched within two days to rectify the situation.

“The workers are instructed to fill the holes with soil once the trees are uprooted and clear up all broken paving stones from the area,” he said, adding that he will investigate the matter.

Omari said all sidewalks affected by the project will be fully repaired.

So far the municipality has uprooted 700 trees out of an estimated 20,000. All olive trees and Washingtonians planted on sidewalks of less then 1.5 metres in width are slated for removal.

The trees are being replanted at a site close to Queen Alia International Airport with a success rate of 80-85 per cent, said Omari.

Studies conducted by the GAM and the Traffic Department indicate that 115 pedestrians were killed and 2,143 injured last year in Amman as a result of having to walk on roads due to sidewalks being blocked by trees.

Ministry of Health studies also indicate that olive trees are a major cause of allergies with approximately 25-30 per cent of the capital’s inhabitants suffering from allergy-related health problems.

Stakeholders in the project also include the Ministry of Health, the Public Safety Department, the Jordan Environment Society and the Jordan Society for Pedestrian Rights.

Thursday, December 14, 2006