Needless to deny that our commuting infrastructure needs serious consideration and prompt action as some of our vital highways are being left in the dark, literally, putting at high risk our people driving at night.
These Lebanese roads are not of minimal significance. The roads connecting the South and the Capital, for example, play a major role in the daily life of our citizens, and yet they turn highly dangerous at nights with no lights whatsoever, no sideroad ramps, and no reflecting lane marks.
For our southern people driving back home after work or heading to enjoy the capital on weekend nights, they risk their life at every turn of the road, and so do the walkers on these roads.
We are talking here about a major region that encompasses very important Lebanese districts for hundreds of towns and cities and that edges The Wall at the frontier.
I have had my personal experience with these roads recently when I took a trip to the South with my best friend, last Saturday. We took off from Beirut by the Khalde road.
We headed all the way to her village, the last Lebanese town at the border with occupied Palestine. There, at the border, was the infamous wall that separates both sides and takes you in scary awe.
By the time we decided to head back to Beirut, the night had fallen, and we initiated a very difficult drive on truly challenging roads of sharp edges and curvy roads. The street lights, since we took off, were not turned on. Not one single light illuminated the roads and their sharp curves.
Via Les Plus Beaux Villages Du Liban
Commenting on the lack of lights, we decided to park on the side and turn off the car flashers to see the extent of the darkness. It was absolutely pitch black to the point that if an innocent bystander was on the sidewalk, he could easily be killed if someone was speeding a bit above the average.
Back on the road, we faced two more challenges that were as dangerous as the lack of lighting. Street stickers, which usually mark the lanes and the roadsides and reflect the car front lights, were absent, so was the existence of sideroad’s ramps along the mountainside.
We get to wonder, not without pain, why do we have electrical poles if the state keeps them off, and why these vital roads have been so disregarded and until when. How many accidents must occur until prompt action is taken to ensure the safety of our fellow commuters of the South?
Moreover, that region of ours presents various important touristic sites, Lebanese landmarks that are sought by visitors and tourists. How can we come to justify to them such critical disregard to the safety of our roads’ commuters?
We can’t even justify it to ourselves.