Ramtha struggling to cope with 'unprecedented' traffic jams — mayor

AMMAN — The northern town of Ramtha has been witnessing "unprecedented" traffic jams due to its growing population, which includes a large number of Syrian refugees, its mayor said Wednesday. 

Ramtha Mayor Ibrahim Saqqar said the border town's infrastructure is struggling to accommodate the rising number of cars carrying Syrian licence plates.

Eighty per cent of municipality's budget, Saqqar added, is allocated for rehabilitating the infrastructure of Ramtha, some 90km north of Amman.

The town's population has gone up from 80,000 four years ago to over 150,000, the mayor said in previous remarks to The Jordan Times.

Saqqar did not have figures on how many cars there were in the city, but noted that the influx of the Syrian refugees has doubled the number of vehicles. 

"We can clearly see Syrian cars on the streets, but as Jordanians it is our duty to sympathise with them," he added.

The mayor said Ramtha used to be a destination for merchants before the Syrian crisis, with many of them driving across the border into Syria to buy goods. 

"However, we did not have problems with traffic jams — at least not to the extent we are experiencing these days".

To alleviate road congestion, the Ramtha Police Department, in cooperation with the Traffic Department, has launched an initiative to regulate traffic by facilitating the movement of cars, shoppers and pedestrians, an official source told The Jordan Times in a phone interview.

"We started implementing the initiative in Banks' Street, which always witnesses traffic jams. We discussed the issue with the directors of the banks and they all praised the initiative and promised to cooperate with us," Saqqar said.

Six banks are located on the vital street, which witnesses frequent traffic jams, according to the mayor.