In many of the empty lots in the middle of the city, one can see lots of abandoned vehicles. All over the streets of Jeddah, you can see disabled and abandoned vehicles. This problem has existed for many years. The number of these unsightly cars increases every time it rains. Because of poor city planning and no drainage system, there is severe flooding when it rains. People die. It's a mess. Thank goodness it doesn't rain very often here, but even so, the city shouldn't flood and people shouldn't die every time it rains.
See the cat paw prints on the abandoned vehicle in the center? Who knows how long this car has been left sitting there, taking up valuable parking space in a city where parking is always such a problem. Building continues at a rapid pace here but parking always seems to be an after thought. According to this recent newspaper article, more than 17,000 abandoned vehicles were removed from the city streets of Jeddah in 2015, yet it continues to be an enormous problem.
This vehicle has been parked in this residential area just one block away from a major mall for a very long time. It's covered in dust, has broken windows, and flat tires. I found dozens of articles about the problem of abandoned vehicles in Jeddah, dating back to 2009. One of the more interesting articles was from January 2012 and featured abandoned luxury cars like Rolls Royce and Bentleys.
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It's one thing to leave behind a glove, but a car?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like they have plates... one wonders if the owners can't be tracked down and ticketed.
Is it because people are so well off that they don't care about cars when they break down they can easily afford to get another one that is why there's this problem?
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
Many of the cars have been a total loss because of the flooding, so when that happens, many of the disabled cars are just left sitting on the streets. There are probably some cases where a person is rich enough to not want to bother with repairing a vehicle if it can be fixed, but I think most people here, if it's affordable and worth it, would choose to repair the car.
DeleteAn interesting perspective. It is good to see the 'eye sores' as well as the beauty of a place.
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with the piles of dirt all over the city?
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy Beach - That's what I would like to know. There are piles of rubble and trash all over the city, especially in empty lots.
DeleteI wonder why the city doesn't remove the cars?
ReplyDeleteHi Lady Fi - There was a an account in the newspaper that last year alone the city removed over 17,000 abandoned vehicles from the streets of Jeddah. I don't know how accurate that is. I do know that every time it rains here which is not too often, thank goodness, the number of disabled and abandoned cars dramatically increases again - so it is an ongoing problem.
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