		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 6 - 12 August 1998 Issue No.389
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Signs along the way

By Salama Ahmed Salama

For the past 10 years, the transformation of the urban landscape has proceeded apace. The number of main roads linking cities all over the country has doubled. In Cairo and its environs, new districts and cities have emerged. Expansion has come about due to economic and population growth. But reconstruction has really come into its own in two important regions. The west of the Northern Coast has witnessed the creation of hundreds of tourist villages along the beaches between Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh. The Red Sea coast and the Gulf of Aqaba in Sinai are the site of a similar proliferation.

In spite of all this, most roads, districts and new cities have remained more or less featureless: without names, numbers, maps or landmarks. The desert road between Cairo and Alexandria is perhaps the only throughway that bears signs showing place names and distances. But even that is incomplete.

As for the North Coast road, which links resort villages that cost thousands of millions of pounds to build, there are no signs along it to indicate distances in kilometres. One has to guess how far one has driven, or to rely on previous experience.

To make matters worse, advertisements along the way, promoting everything from restaurants and tourist villages to furniture shops and construction companies, create overwhelming visual chaos. This, of course, makes the road hard to follow and therefore unsafe.

Although the new road between Wadi Al-Natrun and Al-Alamein was meant to shorten the distance and alleviate the density of traffic all the way to Alexandria, it has remained unused. Most drivers fear taking it because there are no markings of any sort and no services offered anywhere. As for those who have ventured onto it and met with accidents, the result has been a nightmare.

We must admit that we do not attach much importance to road planning in Egypt. Nowhere is this neglect more apparent than on the new road linking 26 July Street to the Alexandria Desert Road. The thinking behind it is brilliant, and it was executed in record time, but the sort of road that was built, as well as the total absence of markings or lines to show entry and exit points, make it unsafe.

Due to the fact that more and more people are using cars to get around, particularly from one city to another, especially in summer when people stream to beach resorts, it has become imperative that we should pay greater attention to road planning. We must have clear signs indicating place names and the distance to various destinations, along with the measures to take in case of accidents. Telephones for use in an emergency are especially important.

Worldwide, particularly in countries that promote themselves as tourist destinations, there are precise, detailed maps of all the main cities, but also of the highways that link cities and villages. In this way, tourists can drive to their destination without fear of losing their way.

Unfortunately, we have nothing of the sort. There are no precise maps of our cities or highways, or even of ordinary roads. The signposts in Cairo and Alexandria are not really sufficient. Worse, they can be misleading and their wording often betrays a stunningly insufficient mastery of English. This is no light matter. It is an integral part of any plan to attract tourists and make them feel comfortable once they are here.

Egyptians are slowly growing more and more dependent on private cars to get about, whether in the cities or outside them. This means that Egyptian roads will require more planning and discipline. After signs are put up, drivers must be trained to pay attention to them. Only careful planning and coordination can prepare Egypt for the coming century, and make of it a country worth investing in.