(Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched a program which will place the country in sync with most of the globe. Streets will receive names, buildings will be numbered and mailboxes will be installed.
The head of Jeddah's Naming & Numbering Department, Husain Al Hijari, said the system will remove confusion and allow for home mail delivery.
Al Hijari explained that under the new system, main thoroughfares are called 'roads' and smaller routes will be 'streets'.Everybody got that? Frankly, I think it's confusing.
Some major streets have been renamed. For example, Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Street (more commonly known as Tahliah Street) is now Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Road. The same change was made to all major routes, such as Prince Majed Road, Sari Road and Palestine Road.
"According to the plan 16 'streets' around the city have been changed into 'roads', which are also being numbered and tagged with different signs. Each sign, which is decorated in traditional Hijazi (western Saudi Arabian) motifs, will have a number that will indicate what section of a particular stretch of road is located in what part of the city.
Each road will get its own distinct logo that will also be on the sign to help drivers know the street and the part of the city they are in. Numbers with two digits will grace roads running parallel to the coastline (roughly north-south) while numbers with single digits will be used on roads running perpendicular to the coastline (east-west).
"This would make it easy for everyone to locate the geographical path that they are driving on," he said.
The city will be divided into four quarters that will meet at the Al Bai'ah roundabout in downtown Jeddah. Each quarter will be divided into four sub-sections. Residences will get a more formal numbering system that will ascend out from the city centre. This will make it easier for residents, especially in apartment buildings, to know their residential mailing address once the new Saudi postal system goes into full swing.
Interestingly though, at about the same time that snail mail is being replaced by email, the Saudis are getting mailboxes.
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