An American in Jordan

The price to park at Queen Alia International Airport just tripled over the last month. The charge for parking (if I recall correctly) used to be thirty piasters per half hour. But the new charge is one dinar for every hour or increment of an hour.

So you want to park for five minutes? One dinar. Fifty-five minutes? One dinar. One hour and five minutes? Cha-ching, two dinars.

As far as I can tell, none of the parking services have improved. There’s the same lackluster security monitoring ignoring the parking lots. And there’s still the overcrowding and the double parking. So in essence, it’s the same crappy experience, only now we get to pay triple the price for it.

Over the past two weeks, little green signs have been popping up at intersections all over Amman, denoting street names and numbers.  Are we finally moving to an address-based system rather than a landmark-based one?

Thank you, Greater Amman Authority, and keep up the good work.

Everyone is obsessed with this huge blizzard that is supposed to hit Amman today…the one I’ve been saying is not going to come.

Look out the window? Do you see the sun? Do you feel the temperature? It’s 10° C (50° F) outside. Even if the snow were to start falling, the ground has been far too warm for the past couple of days for anything to stick. But there’s hardly a cloud in the sky at the moment, and the low temperature for the day is only supposed to be 1° C (34° F). And the 5-day online forecast (which I trust much more than Jordan’s meteorologists) is calling for sunny skies with a few days of hazy clouds.

I just received a call from the doctor’s office canceling an appointment this evening and bumping it to earlier in the day, which really puts a kink in my schedule. Why the cancellation? Because of the inclement weather, of course!

Here’s some snippets of Nas’ opinion on the impending meteorological disaster:

I think the only thing possibly worse than that chaos associated with actual snow in the country are those few days leading up to a potential snow fall, when everyone is talking about it. Weather information isn’t the most developed facet of Jordan’s public services, a point which is highlighted every time a snow storm is preceded by predictions of sun shine. Still, Jordan TV and various radio stations find a way to turn the science of meteorology into the fortunetelling makings of a game show.

And for some funny reason, it seems people take pleasure in bad weather. Maybe we take some sort of pleasure in the predictability and historical reliability of things always getting worse before they get better.

Also, every snow storm is the biggest to hit Jordan in 50 years. Every one.

I wish everyone would quit screwing up schedules just because they think the sky is about to fall.

Following my traffic prediction a few days ago, this recent The Jordan Times article comes as no surprise:

Icy and slippery roads as well as tailgating caused 120 traffic accidents yesterday between 6:00am and 10:30am, a Public Security Department official said on Sunday.

“The reasons behind these accidents were mainly attributed to improper use of lane, tailgating as well as icy roads,” said Acting Director of Public Security Department’s Central Traffic Colonel Daoud Hakoz.

He stressed that these accidents could have been avoided if citizens had followed safety instructions in such weather conditions.

Meanwhile, PSD Spokesperson Major Mohammad Khatib said citizens’ abidance by the rules and regulations is the answer to road accidents.

“Despite all traffic awareness programmes implemented by all concerned parties, the number of accidents is on the rise,” Khatib said.

He stressed that Jordan should follow the example of other countries that succeeded in tackling the rising number of road accidents by imposing stiffer penalties on violators.

The Lower House recently rejected a temporary Traffic Law, citing financial penalties that are too high.

Apparently the cost to create greater traffic order and safety in Jordan is far too steep for the government.  No wonder things are worsening.

Source: The Jordan Times, February 4, 2008

I wrote this first thing this morning and was planning to post it once I got to the office. Alas, the internet was down at the office, so I never was able to post it until now. Now that the day is over and I’m just getting home from being out in traffic all day, I can see that my predictions were true.

I anticipate today being the worst traffic day of the year in Jordan. People are beginning to get cabin fever, so they will start taking to the streets, whether they have a good reason or not. The roads are partially clear, but the pile-up of snow on the sides of the roads have left only about a lane-and-a-half for traffic thoroughfare. Drivers are not being smart and are taking up entire “lanes” causing traffic congestion.

Taxi and Service drivers are being especially inconsiderate today. Seemingly unaware of the already narrow lanes, they are stopping in the middle of the street to pick up or drop off fares. This causes a lot of honking and undue congestion.

The snow is slowly melting, causing a flood of water to pour into recessed areas. In most situations, the poorly designed drainage systems are covered with piles of snow, so water is pooling up. Unaware drivers are speeding along and hitting these pockets of water, which cause them to hydroplane and skid out of control.

Drivers are not being careful as they pass walking pedestrians. They speed by, splashing up muddy water on those who are on the sides of the road. How hard is it to drive a bit slower and steer clear of those who are trying to walk?

Do to the piling of snow in empty lots and on the sides of the roads, there are very few places for people to park. Thus drivers are sandwiching their cars into any available space. The roads were already narrow enough without the snow piles and extra parked cars, which have reduced back roads down to single lanes. And even main roads are suffering, as people are parking in front of businesses and blocking traffic.

Just be aware, if you absolutely must go out today, be considerate and cautious. Don’t add to the idiotic chaos that is Amman’s general driving populous.