Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
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successfully address this issue it is anticipated that training and additional vehicles and speed
monitoring equipment will be required.
Accident Statistics and Reporting. The accurate and complete compilation of accident
statistics and their timely reporting is an important traffic police function which needs to be
substantially improved. This information can serve as the foundation for improved traffic
safety programs as well as an input for determining where and what traffic management
measures should receive highest priority.
Traffic Incidence Management. It should be recognised that traffic incidents, including
accidents and vehicle breakdowns, typically are the cause of a significant proportion of travel
delays or congestion in urban areas. It is therefore important to equip the traffic police with
suitable equipment and training to be able to expeditiously document and clear accidents and
similarly to be able quickly clear all other traffic impediments.
Parking Enforcement. A very important matter to resolve is the enforcement of parking
restrictions. This will likely require changes to parking legislation and/or regulations.
Another important matter to resolve is whether parking enforcement should be handled by
the traffic police or alternatively whether this function could be handled by special deputized
personnel, as is common in many cities, freeing the traffic police for more demanding traffic
enforcement functions.
Maintenance
The substantial fixed investment in the urban road network needs to be maintained as a priority
measure prior to considering any significant improvement or expansion of this network. It is well
recognised that delays in the timely maintenance of roads results over the longer run in increased
maintenance or road rehabilitation costs. The current allocation for maintaining the primary road
network appears to be insufficient and hence there is a need to increase the maintenance budget for
the GCR road network and for road maintenance funding to be consistent over time to ensure timely
maintenance. Research has indicated that at least 20% of the total roads budget should be invested in
maintenance.
Based on discussions with GCTRA there is an initiative to be implemented called the
‘1m
2
initiative’
.
This aims to start with small steps and repair and maintain roads to a high quality to send a message
to users that they should respect the road network (e.g. park in the right way and not throw litter and
respect lane markings). Part of this initiative includes drawing up a list of deficiencies (e.g. pot holes,
manholes, signs) on 6 corridors for implementation.
Institutional Set Up
There are a multitude of various ministries and organizations responsible for transport in GCR for
example:
Various Ministries - those responsible for Transport include, MoT, MoH, Ministry of Interior,
Ministry of Defence , MOI, Suez Canal Authority
Within Ministries these are divided into various authorities e.g. within MoT there is the RTA,
General Authority for Roads and Bridges, National Authority of Tunnels (NAT), Expressway
Authority, GCTA, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Red Sea Ports Authority, Egyptian National
Railway Authority, National Council for Road Safety Within MoH there is National Authority
of Urban Dev, GOPP
3 Governates
The GCTRA has recently been set up to address these issues and the success of this organization will
need to be monitored. This is indeed a positive step.
Institutional Capacity Building
.
Addressing traffic management deficiencies in GCR will require substantial improvements in the
existing institutional capacity within the GCR. Previous research has highlighted that this will include