Owners of shops, eateries opposite Abdali Project outraged at municipal measures

By Laila Azzeh - Apr 19,2016 - Last updated at Apr 19,2016

Owners of commercial shops and restaurants on Suleiman Nabulsi Street (right) complain that issuing traffic tickets to those who parking there is driving away customers (Photo by Hassan Tamimi)

AMMAN – Owners of restaurants and commercial shops located opposite the Abdali Project are planning to take escalatory measures against the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) for its “arbitrary” action against them.

“For three days now, anyone who parks outside the shops and restaurants opposite the Abdali Project, especially on Suleiman Nabulsi Street, is issued traffic tickets, causing people to avoid buying from these shops altogether,” said Foodstuff Traders Association President Khalil Haj Tawfiq.

He added that there is “no one free parking lot in the area”, noting that the decision to ban cars from parking outside shops located near the Abdali Project is “arbitrary” and “unfair”.

“There are nearly 300 to 400 eateries and commercial establishments in the area. Such a decision would affect many Jordanian families,” Haj Tawfiq told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

However, GAM highlighted that the decision seeks to ensure smoother traffic movement in the area, which “witnesses constant traffic jams”.

“We want to serve the whole area. We are now carrying several improvement measures on the Suleiman Nabulsi Street, which also include paving sidewalks and creating parking lots,” the head of GAM’s media department, Mazen Farajin, told The Jordan Times.

He noted that the work will take two weeks, during which the municipality will address “unjustified traffic behaviours”.

“It is illegal to have cars parking on the sides of a main street,” Farajin said.

Tawfiq charged that GAM’s claims are “false”, saying that there are more populated streets in Jordan than the one in question.

“People are allowed to park outside restaurants and shops for a certain period of time. The municipality keeps talking about the need for more cooperation with the private sector, but its actions are against it,” he charged.

Tawfiq added that owners of restaurants located in Abdali are considering presenting the keys to their establishments to GAM in protest against its measures.

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