URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

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URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING
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Introduction
Transportation plays an important role in urban development. It offers mobility for
citizens in addition to goods as well as possessions in addition to shapes the patterns of
developments and diverse viewpoints of economic activity by means of land accessibility
(Al-Mosaind 2018). The arrangement of transportation is deliberated one of the main
explanations of urban development as the association between the expansion of high-paced
roadways, urban development in addition to the population growth. The emergence of traffic
and consequently traffic overcrowding in urban road systems are growing worldwide with the
rising number of vehicles, which are causing additional delays, and reducing security and
wellbeing (Aljoufie et al. 2016). The social, economic contrivances of urban growth are
linked to rise of urban population as well as economic growth, while physical components of
urban development as well as financial growth are related to spatial growth, land cover
modification and land usage change. These complex connections are instigated by numerous
forces like transportation in addition to communication along with internal and global
movements, public strategies as well as high natural growth rates of urban inhabitants.
Traditional urban planning approaches in rapid growing cities such as Riyadh city and Jeddah
in Saudi Arabia fail to deal with the negative significances of fast urban growth (Aldalbahi
and Walker 2015). The following paper will explain the transport policies in the Saudi Arabia
and few of its cities. It will also provide proposed policies to resolve the recurrent issue of
transportation and traffic congestion in Saudi.
Discussion
Transport policies in the Saudi Arabia and few of its cities
There have been numerous endeavours to develop new and ground-breaking policies
with an agenda of improving the staggering transport complications faced worldwide.
Majority of these policies are intended to give emphasis to the well-organized utilization of

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Transportation Demand Management (TDM) as well as Transportation Supply Management
(TSM) solutions (Al-Mosaind 2018). The decisive goal of these policies is to restrain the
endless reliance on automobile travel within cities. Since the last five decades, structure and
local plans have been prepared for Jeddah. Irrespective of these policies, issues with
transportation congestion tends to continue. This is attributed by the restrictions on
conventional urban planning practices as well as absence of suitable and organized policy
(Acharya et al 2017).
Since 2010, land subdivision policies as well as processes have created large-scale
activity all through the Jeddah city. However, a major gap has been identified between urban
growth policies and transportation policies. On the other hand, Riyadh never comprised of an
effective public transport system. As per reports, after the expiration of the SCET order in
around 1999, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) developed a novel
strategy called the Metropolitan Development Strategy for Ar Riyadh (MEDSTAR) with an
agenda of managing city expansion over the upcoming 5 decades (Aljoufie et al. 2016). The
policy focused on the arrangement of higher mass housing as well as commercial expansion
with significant public transport zones. It also put emphasis on the improvement of the ring
road arrangement for extracting the pressure from congested central arterial roadways.
According to Aljoufie et al (2016), the policy implemented by MEDSTAR, a new Riyadh
Public Transport Project (RPTP) has been accepted with an aim of lessening dependency of
vehicles and further to fit into the majority of the regions of Riyadh.
Meanwhile, in Jeddah, transportation policies and guidelines like the predominant
transport infrastructure provision policy increased the issues of radically augmented traffic
movement (Abouhassan 2017). Despite the fact, that this policy has delivered a superior
availability and ease to diverse forms of land utilization; after a certain point it showed high
incapacity of dealing with the lag elevating transportable demands, thereby causing an

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increase in traffic congestion. In addition, strategies and policies focusing on cars to the
development of principal framework patterns of transport systems as well as deficiency of
public transportation and non-car modes policies have contributed to the existing transport
condition in Jeddah city (Mandeli 2019). Moreover, a gap between urban expansion policies
and transportation policies has been identified. In the view of Badawi and Nayer (2017),
urban development policies failed to focus on the costs in transportation. On the other hand,
transport and conveyance policies have not involved the continuing effects of diverse policies
on urban development. However, Jeddah municipality has organized a draft strategic plan in
2009 with an aim of deal with these recurrent challenges.
The fundamental agenda of this plan focuses on competing with the growth as well as
urban development encounters which involve utilization of land as well as transportation
issues till 2029. As per Badawi and Nayer (2017), the strategic plan has mentioned an
arrangement of sustainable smart growth in a highly systematic structure. Furthermore, the
policy also recommended advancement of public transport along with a linked transportation
network which includes a new ring road in the eastern expansion column and further
transferred the commercial and manufacturing development.
Proposed policies for improving traffic system in Riyadh and Jeddah, hierarchical manner
The concept of ‘complete street’ can serve as an effective strategy for Saudi Arabia
cities to improve their transportation system. This policy if implemented successfully can
attain additional community objectives which are linked to the environment, social
incorporation in addition to the health status and financial growth (Wan et al. 2016). The
strategy of complete streets aimed in accommodating every relevant systems of conveyance.
The transport policy will further aim in improving the balanced mobility configurations in
urban areas and neighbourhoods. This proposed policy will further stimulate the utilization of
highly useful and efficient transport systems like pedestrian strolling as well as bicycling in

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addition to improved public transport capacity and elevated level of safety and protection for
all roadway users (Jamal et al. 2020).
However, research has claimed that regardless of the endeavours given in urban areas
like the Al-Tahlia Street, there has been a major decline in street spaces which can be
accessible for pedestrians living in Riyadh. In addition to this, the over reliance of citizens of
Riyadh on vehicle usage has been linked to the shortage of effectual street policies which
have intended at improving walkability and have contributed to a decline in the liveability as
well as sustainability measures in Riyadh (Jamal et al. 2020). Through the implementation of
complete street policy, every city levels of Riyadh can securely put up with all modes of
transportable, users as well as activities by incorporating systematic design elements which
might change depending on the context as well as project goals. In addition to this, the policy
of the complete streets will highlight the importance of equivalent management of all types of
conveyance with greater importance for pedestrians and social communication of populaces.
The proposed strategy will effectively help in reducing vehicle space vis-à-vis a number and
measurement of vehicle paths as well as automobile on-street parking. Acharya et al (2017)
have cited an example of Smart Growth America that has implemented complete streets
policies with an intention of recognizing the accommodations for people. Likewise, the
policy of walkable areas for people will show high effectiveness in addressing the identified
requirements of specific users.
Hence, the aim of the complete street policy will focus on guaranteeing pedestrian as
well as public transportation facilities. According to Aldalbahi and Walker (2015), as per
urban planning, primary roads could comprise of a width of 100 or 80 meters in basic
terrestrial neighbourhoods. It does not tend to surpass 60 meters in neighbourhoods with
uneven grounds. In the similar way, the width of minor roadways tend to expand from 30 to
40 meters while on the other hand, collector streets tend to range from nearly 18 to 25 meters.

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In addition to this, local streets have a tendency to be low as 6 meters but rise up to 20
meters. In the opinion of Jamal et al (2020), considering the arid-hot temperature of Riyadh, a
range of measures must be implemented which can upsurge the comfort zone of foot-
travelers as well as motorcyclists travelling in city streets. Moreover, the measures can
correspond to the complete streets policy and its core requirements and efficiently advance
them irrespective of locational hierarchy.
Second Smart Growth Policy can be implemented in improving the transportation
system of Jeddah city. The aim of the suggested policy is to incorporate smart transportation
systems to help commuters travel in ease within congested areas. Furthermore, the strategy
will also highlight importance of proposing metro lines development as a part of the
municipalities’ development plans (Ledraa 2015). However, Jeddah strategic transport plan
will require additional level of guidance in the aspects of major transportation infrastructure
improvement.
Conclusion
Hence to conclude, the achievement of complete streets policies will depend of
associating them to extensive urban development policies. Thus, a strategic need is important
for incorporating complete streets initiatives with development of Master Plans in order to
guarantee the effective execution of complete streets policy which will further guarantee the
permanency and stability of these guidelines in space as well as time. Also, policy
interventions in Jeddah city must be fully developed by means of which superior sustainable
transportation use arrangements can be attained. Proposed strategies will effectively help in
reducing vehicle space vis-à-vis a number and measurement of vehicle paths as well as
automobile on-street parking in both the cities.

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