CAIRO: A decision to ban idling cars in Tahrir Square, as part of a strategy to improve traffic, went into effect Saturday morning, reported Youm7.
Cars will be forbidden to wait on both sides of Talaat Harb St. (from Abdel Khaleq Tharwat to Talaat Harb Sq.) as well as on both sides of Kasr el-Nil St. (from Talaat Harb Sq. to Sherif St.)
Cairo Governor Galal el-Saeed previously stated that this move is the second phase of the strategy, which is aimed to be applied in different areas in the governorate.
He urged citizens to commit to the decision as well as the Cairo Traffic Authority to implement it as well as to apply penalties per the traffic law to all violating cars. According to Saeed, there will be traffic signs installed in the streets to guide drivers.
In the past months, the government has carried out other moves to end the chronic problem of traffic jams, especially in the downtown area.
The multi-level Tahrir Garage was inaugurated on Jan. 31 in attempt to solve downtown Cairo’s chronic parking problems. Plans for other new garages have reportedly been finalized; the total capacity of all of them was said to be around 3,600 cars.
The government also launched a campaign in August 2014 to relocate street vendors from the downtown area and near metro stations to reduce congestion. Many of the vendors have said they face difficulty adjusting to the new venue, the Torgoman Garage, which they find “unsuitable.”
Additional reporting by Manal el-Essawi and Nourhan Magdi