The Bridges are coming! How local planners continue to cut through the fabric of Cairo by building mega highways and flyovers through its neighborhoods.
 If you google âhighway removal projectsâ, one of the first results might direct you to this Wikipedia article on Freeway removal projects, or to an article by Alana Semuels on The Atlantic about the freeways that wrecked many US cities and how their removal may revitalize the urban cores these freeways cut through. Within those same search results, you might as well see a link to Cheonggyecheon: a park in South Koreaâs capital Seoul, that has been developed on the remains of a former interstate freeway that slivered through the cityâs core. The debate regarding which highways in the US are the worst, and therefore should be removed, continues. Â
Meanwhile, as these developments are happening worldwide, another set of developments is taking place in the eastern part of the Greater Cairo Region in Egypt; in the districts of Heliopolis, New Cairo, and other newly planned residential districts. After dabbling for some time with massive highway expansion projects, the highway expansion storm has finally landed.Â
Heliopolis, an old and well-established district built around the turn of the 20th Century, was built with the pedestrian in mind: it was a walking-friendly and transit-oriented neighborhood. Built 15 km away from Cairo at the time, it was connected to the city center by tram, built even before construction had begun, and thus was used to help transport the workers and supplies.
In August 2019, bulldozers wrecked through several of Heliopolisâ main green boulevards and plazas to make way for a series of new bridges, and to expand existing roads. Some of these streets had wide medians dotted with trees, flowers, and grass. The areas affected were mainly: Farid Samika St, Othman Ibn Afan St , Higaz St , Abdelaziz Fahmy St , Abu-Baker elSediq St , Merghany St , Montazah St , Mohamed Farid St, Abdel Hamid Badawy St, Mahkama Sq, Higaz Sq, Saint Fatima Sq, and Triumph Sq.
Map of newly expanded roads and bridges. Illustration by the author. The base map is from Google Earth pro. As on 14/5/2020.Â
The Cairo Governorate and the Ministry of Transport imposed, almost overnight, a new reality on the residents of Heliopolis with hardly any consultation or community dialogue with the local residents. Constructing 5 new bridges over what used to be lush and green squares, triggered a massive wave of social backlash and public outrage. The transformation of these avenues into megalomanic highways, led to the removal of 375,065.36 mÂČ or a total of 95.3 fedans (almost 375 dunum) worth of trees and green areas, according to data provided by the Heliopolis Heritage initiative.Â
Photos of workers removing light-rail infrastructure, in preparation for the road widening and flyover construction works. Source: Heliopolis Heritage Initiative.Â
The Cairo-Suez road, which starts from Thawra street at the edge of Heliopolis, is an important road linking Cairo to the Red Sea port city of Suez (also the southern entrance of the Suez canal), and further to Southern Sinai via the Ahmad Hamdi Tunnel.Â
Starting from the 1980s however, new developments and satellite cities East of Cairo began proliferating on both sides of the Suez road. That provided these new cities strategic access to both the capital and Suez port and made it a lucrative choice for many industries to relocate their factories to cities such as the 10th of Ramadan and Badr. It also provided access to cheap desert land for real estate development, leading to an increase of traffic along the road especially in the western section connecting the new cities to Heliopolis, due to the lack of adequate public transport services in the area.Â
As traffic increased along the Cairo-Suez road, the road was expanded multiple times, and eventually partially rerouted in-order to expand it to a fourteen lane concrete based highway. Since the Cairo Suez road ends up right at the Eastern entrance to Heliopolis, the section between Thawra St and the Cairo-Suez road became a bottleneck for incoming traffic coming through into Thawra St.
While multiple alternatives exist that could have helped divert part of this traffic away, such as congestion charges and investments in public transport, it seems like the planners went for what seems to be an obvious solution: transform Thawra St into a one way 7 lane highway going to Suez road, expand a series of diverging local roads into a single one-way 7 lane highway and redirect incoming traffic through it.
On the other hand, the most vocal and forefront opponents of the project, the Heliopolis Heritage Initiative (HHI), unfortunately, did not put more emphasis on the need to preserve and develop the existing light rail infrastructure. For example, the HHI did not propose the possibility of procuring new trains to be used on the existing tracks, which would serve the practical purposes of high-speed mobility even if it doesnât necessarily look like the old heritage trams. In itâs January 10th post, it instead proposed a shift to electric buses and cars (and possibly introducing bike lanes) not as a way to shift to sustainable mobility, but rather to reduce air pollution. While this is a legitimate concern, it wonât address the wider issue of mobility, While cycling lanes are a good thing, without high-speed metro, LRT and feeder buses networks, they would serve a very small portion of Cairoâs residents.
Needless to say, arguments and views that are based on reducing air pollution are still valid arguments against megalomanic road construction projects. Yet, they still do not touch upon the practical value of preserving and developing the existing light-rail infrastructure nor the benefits of having a walkable city (and by walkable meaning more wide safe sidewalks and crossings, and fewer pedestrian bridges over busy highways). This seems to have been the case even at the very angry and stormy Heliopolis community and stakeholder discussions. Another strong argument that was present in these debates was the loss of green area as a result of removing all the medians and narrowing the sidewalks, which is also a valid argument on its own.
All of these arguments are equally legitimate, they fell short of dealing with the core issues - for me - as an urban researcher which is not addressing the heart of the issue that led to this: how most people see the vehicular traffic side of the equation, and not think of the core issue which is how to put in a place a sustainable urban mobility plan that moves all commuters without the traffic congestions, the lost public spaces used for parking and building highway interchanges, or the emissions, or any of the side effects of private car use have on public streets.Â
Of course it is important to mention here that there were a few voices, such as the fellow expert Ahmed ElDorghamy, who recently made a video about the impacts of road widening, and how building fly-overs would only result in more induced demand. Also, in a similar vein, a former colleague and fellow expert, Mohamed Hegazy - a Cofounder of Transport for Cairo - expressed a valid and important argument that increasing road space is only a temporary short term solution that would soon be run over with more induced traffic.Â
Artwork, featuring a dystopian future of flyovers going through the Heliopolis Basilicaâs dome. Courtesy of Farid R Farid.Â
What I had intended to do, back in January 2020, was to use the case of Heliopolis and itâs new bridges to offer a different view, similar to those of my colleagues but also focused on a multi-faceted and an interdisciplinary perspective:Â
the relationship of the massive urban sprawl across the ever-growing borders of the Greater Cairo Region (GCR),
what should be the driving motive to have a sustainable mass transit system in the first place,
to encourage non-motorized forms of mobility (such as walking and cycling).Â
In the past, the cityâs core was dense enough to make walking more lucrative to commuters, especially walking to the nearest metro station or minibus stop, which made more sense than driving or picking up a cab. Having such density helps in making expensive underground metro projects cost-effective (as the cost is divided per capita of its users and the residents they serve). This density makes any section of the recently completed Cairo metro construction almost immediately popular, bringing in immediate revenues and filling up with passengers way before the entire line would be even fully constructed (as such the case with the Third Metro line).Â
However, there are concerns that this might not be the case anymore as Cairo turns to the new low-density developments, revolving around private car ownership rather than being mass-transit friendly. Simply put, one cannot make a cost-effective public transport system without a certain level of density. Otherwise, extending public transport networks to new cities would simply be too expensive and not easy to justify. Hence, it is the very legacy of Heliopolis as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) that has been lost here, in addition to the green and aesthetic aspects. What makes it even more difficult to many Cairenes, including myself, is that for a long time Heliopolis had remained a holdout, in a ânewâ Cairo that is being shaped into a âcars onlyâ city.
Tram tracks removal in favor of road expansion projects and the lack of sufficient investments in the Public Buses are not new to Cairo. As early as the 1960âs, the municipal authorities began reversing the trend of the expanding Tram and Bus network by taking out small sections of the tram network, and slowly removing the Trolleybuses that once ran through the heart of Cairo. This is something I wrote about earlier, in an article on Tadamunâs website, tackling the patchwork solutions Cairo resorted to ever since the end of the late 19th Century. Â
Two trolleybuses lined up in a downtown street, in Cairo, ca. 1981. Source: Transportation Egypt Facebook page Â
While most cities around the globe, including London, had similar beginnings as an array of private companies built and managed the different modes of transport in the city, including the underground which was built by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, some routes by the Metropolitan Rail and the trams and buses were run by private companies. Yet, Londonâs different authorities and boroughs noticed the need for a form of joint planning and a central committee that would oversee the operations and future expansion of public transport in London. That led to the establishment of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) in 1933.Â
On the other hand, Cairo - despite the early similarities regarding ownership and oversight of the public transit networks - had no specialized board or committee other than Cairo Municipality. That too changed, as a result of the nationalization of many transit companies and the Cairo Transit Authority (CTA) ownership changing hands with the municipality, then the Army, then the Ministry of Transport and back to the municipal authorities in 1971, now called Cairo Governorate.Â
And ever since, Cairoâs tram network has continued to shrink, mainly in favor of road widening projects and tram tracks removal, and its bus system could not handle the displaced passenger volume. This, on one hand, led to the proliferation of informal shared-taxis, but also led to a negative feedback loop that made public transit even less attractive and pushed those who could afford to, to buy cars and use them for their daily commutes, adding more traffic on the streets and putting more pressure on the crumbling bus networks that didnât have separate lanes (or if they, it was not enforced as with the short-lived Salah Salem bus lanes).Â
The only notable exception, while it had its problematic aspects, was the Mustafa ElNahas bus corridor, which despite its short length, was one of the few partly successful projects that gave a dedicated path for buses and separated it from the rest of traffic. However, that came at the cost of removing whatever was left of the tram tracks that used to run along that very path. Eventually, instead of developing the project from a medial bus lane to A Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as proposed by Tadamun (see below figure), the bus lane was removed and the road was widened.
In that sense, Heliopolis was the remaining holdout for a successful Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in Cairo, built way before any International Funding Institution or scholar had coined the term, and its trams had persisted into the 2000s. In fact, in 2012/2013 I personally frequently took the Matareya bound tram from Safir square to Helmiet El-Zaitoun metro station heading to downtown Cairo, making use of both the tram and metro. The trams were old and a tad slow, but they functioned quite well and were much more time-efficient.
Safeer Square n.d (before bridge construction), courtesy of ana.mn.misr.algdeda Facebook pageÂ
Safeer Square, August 2019, at the beginning of the bridges project. Photo credits: Michael Hanna Â
Safeer Square after the fly-over construction and tram tracks removal. January 2020 (Source)Â
Therefore, it is frustrating to see that the value of Heliopolisâ urban design and transit-oriented legacy is no longer appreciated; and that therefore it is kosher to remove billions of Egyptian pounds worth of Light rail infrastructure, only to replace it with a flyover.Â
And to add salt to injury, much of the mainstream media and state-owned newspapers celebrated the commencement of Heliopolisâ new bridges: claiming that âHeliopolis has once again brought back the beauty that was made by Baron Empainâ. Iâm not sure if Ădouard Empain had lived to see what had happened to his formerly sprawling tram network and his life project, Heliopolis, if he would have agreed with that statement.
ElAkhbar ElYoum: âHeliopolis has once again brought back the beauty that was made by Baron Empainâ. Jan 12, 2020. URL as on May 17, 2020.Â
The main logic of all these new âcorridorsâ and bridges is clear: since Suez road, which originally served as an intercity highway between Cairo and Suez, has now become the main corridor leading to the new cities East of Cairo, something had to be done to accommodate all this increased traffic volume.Â
Expanding the roads to that width, without any possibilities for safe pedestrian crossings, will counter any benefits incurred by expanding the roadways, and increase the number of trips taken by private cars as people have to move around the neighborhood, not just commuting to work, but for purposes that didnât require motorized mobility before such as children going to school, and grocery shopping.
A tram driving through a former Heliopolis Boulevard, Cairo 2004. Photo Credits: Christoph Groneck.
I spoke to Forensic Traffic Engineer Khaled Mostafa about this and he agreed that these plans didnât make sense: âYou canât make a freeway where pedestrians are expected to cross the streetâ. According to Mustafa, any solution to this dilemma is complex and will further complicate any original intended goal to attain free flow of traffic and also keep the streets safe for pedestrians. He said, heavily heartedly, âfor the first time, I cannot think of a solution to thisâ. He also noted that these new urban freeways will create urban degeneration around them: âwhat people did in the areas surrounding the ring road, will happen now in Heliopolisâ.
Ambulance arriving at the scene of a pedestrian-vehicle collision under one of the newly built bridges in Heliopolis. Source: Heliopolis 1905 Facebook page
Since the bridges and road expansions commenced 6 months ago, there have been at least 40 vehicle-pedestrian collision incidents on the newly expanded roads due to the lack of sufficient and appropriate pedestrian infrastructure. In response, the Cairo Traffic police set up radar speed control checkpoints along the corridors, and a couple of Zebra crossings and road signage.Â
When I probed him about the new speed limits that were imposed on these corridors and the subsequent speed controls done by the Cairo traffic police, Mustafa felt that these solutions only came after popular demands, including those voiced through the Heliopolis Heritage Initiative, to do something regarding the injuries and fatalities as a result of the lack of safe passages for pedestrians. He also noted that â60 km/h is too low for such a freewayâ. If the plan was to set up these speed controls, why build a freeway in the first place?
Cover of the WRC report âCities Safer by designâ. URL as on May 18, 2020
According to the World Resource Center (WRC), one of the ways âcities can become safer, healthy placesâ is âby changing the design of their streets and communitiesâ. In their guide on making cities safer by design, the WRC cites key factors that help keep the streets safer for pedestrians and the community alike:
First, is to design connected and compact urban design, which reduces the need for driving and fosters shorter trips.
Second, is by drastically reducing vehicle speeds to the lower range, i.e below 30 km/h. âThe fatality risk for pedestrians with vehicles traveling at 50 km/h is more than twice as high as the risk at 40 km/hr and more than five times higher than the risk at 30 km/hrâ (see figure below).
Source: WRC report âCities Safer by Design!â - p 16. URL as on May 17, 2020.
Third, is to manage arterial roads by ensuring they feature multiple modes of transport and that motor vehicle speeds are limited to 40 km/hr, especially in mixed land use areas. âRoads with higher speeds ought to be completely separated from pedestrians, cyclists, and corresponding mixed land uses.Â
Fourth, emphasizing non-motorized means of transport (such as walking and cycling) and mass transit/public transportation.
Dutch cartoon from 1965 with the caption: â(1975) The Last Pedestrianâ - Credits: Fritz Behrendt, âDe Laatste Voetganger,â De Telegraaf, ca. 1965.
Still from a promotional video released by the Cairo Traffic Police, showing two conscripts helping a pedestrian cross one of the recently widened roads in Heliopolis. Youtube video, as on May 21, 2020.
However, while many maps and presentations portray the new de-densified cities (such as the New Administrative Capital) as completely separate entities separated by countryside or desert, nothing on the ground suggests any of these new cities are independent or do not have to rely on Cairo as a central node for essential and non-essential services. The supposed gaps between New Cairo and the NAC quickly got filled up by all forms of development, including gated communities or single-family housing areas (mainly villas and townhouses) and 4-5 story buildings of flats and office space. The same could be said about the gaps between New Cairo and Nasr city, as multiple compounds have already been built, or are under construction especially along Suez road.
If we compare these guidelines with what has been done in Heliopolis, New Cairo, and the new urban communities / the suburbs, the Heliopolis development, Suez road expansion, and the new highway projects go against every single guideline offered by the WRC report.Â
The general policy pursued by the Cairo Governorate, the Ministry of Housing and the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), is to de-densify Cairo instead of utilizing it to improve walkability, public transport and introduce protected cycling lanes, for example.
Map produced by a consultancy showing the location of the âNew Capitalâ. According to this map, the new Capital is separate from New Cairo and Cairo. URL as on May 17, 2020.
Map produced by author using Google Earth Pro, showing the different (and endless number) of compounds and new planned developments that will eventually fill up the gap between New Cairo, the New Capital, and Shorouk and Badr cities.
That just means that instead of these new cities being self-sufficient and independent, these new urban communities continue to leach on Cairoâs resources and capacity. Most of the time, this burden is not just increased traffic between central Cairo and the peripheries, but also a financial drain on the budgets of populous and well-established areas.Â
And despite Cairo being such an important provider for the new cities, its needs for more investment in its public transport system and its infrastructure continue to be ignored or slow-walked (as with the case of the metro expansions), or completely aimed at serving new cities and their residents.
Comment: Are there similarities to what happened in the US in the mid 20th century, with regards to the highway construction projects and demolitions through inner cities, and Egypt right now?
For instance, despite a long-standing plan for building a total of 6 metro lines in Cairo since the late 1990s, progress has been extremely slow due to the diversion of most of the public funds available to construct new highways and expand existing ones.Â
Cairo Metro master plan as envisaged by the National Authority for Tunnels. URL as retrieved on May 11, 2020.Â
The main reasons behind the delays in commencing new metro projects are either funding related or simply bureaucratic quagmires: the start of the construction of the 4th line (which is planned to serve vital areas of interest such as the long-awaited new Grand Egyptian Museum and the Giza Pyramids area) has been delayed multiple times and postponed due to the lack of suitable tenders, submitted to the Egyptian Ministry of Transport as part of an open call for bids.
Eventually, a coalition of national and international companies are going to finally break ground and start construction of the 4th metro line), 3 years after the first tender was launched. This is a waste of precious time that could have been used for construction, given that the Grand Egyptian Museum was set to open this year; and since all the technical studies and plans were drawn up much earlier (Note: the grand opening of the new museum has been postponed due to the COVID19 crisis).Â
Updates and an open-ended conclusion
 At the time of editing this article, residents of Teraâat ElZomor st in Giza (which is considered as part of the Greater Cairo Region), posted photos of a newly constructed section of a highway bridge, engulfing the entire span of the street below, with the edges almost touching the buildings nearby!
Photos by a local resident showing construction work in Teraâat ElZomor st, May 11, 2020. Photo Credits: Mostnir Shady AhmedÂ
The so-called âKing Salman corridorâ is supposed to connect the West and East ring roads. That would have been logical if only no existing links were connecting both roads already just a few kilometers to the west, maybe? This redundant highway is an example of how local funds are directed to road construction, while public transport authorities struggle to expand their reach and find enough funds to expand their networks.
Drone footage of Salah Salem st, Nozha St, Abu-Bakr Elsedeq st, at ElGalaa intersection and flyover bridges. ca April 2020. Photo Credits: Cairo Governorate. URL as on May 18, 2020.Â
It seems that we are stuck in a catch-22 situation: as public transit services remain underfunded, more people are pushed to use private modes of mobility, which in turn leads to increased traffic congestion. Ignoring the root cause that led to this crisis in the first place, temporary solutions such as road widening and highway/flyover construction projects are deployed. For a while, these projects will provide short term relief. Eventually, induced demand catches up and traffic jams intensify, affecting public buses and reducing their efficiency as they get stuck in the congestion, and putting more pressure on already overstretched underground rail services. More people use private modes of mobility as public transit becomes less comfortable, and then the cycle repeats itself.
Without a brave plan to break out of this cycle, not a single neighborhood will be safe from having its fabric ruptured in favor of wider roads, clover-field intersections, and highways. As the examples of Heliopolis and Giza here show if we do nothing about this issue and continue business as usual, investing in roads and giving up on public transport, even New Cairo and the new desert cities might follow suit, and flyover eventually take over former green medians and boulevards.
I would like to thank the friends and colleagues whom I spoke to while writing this article, including Safa H. Ashoub and Khaled Mostafa, who helped in providing valuable contributions and helpful insights on the issue.
Also, I am heartily grateful for the support and insightful comments by my partner, for which without her unwavering support this piece would have not made it through the unproductive and demotivating quagmire of the coronavirus lockdown.
