In major cities acrossthe developed world, pedestrian crossings are treated as sacred zones—places where human life takes clear priority over the movement of vehicles. Wherever pedestrians may cross, one finds warning lights, illuminated signs, flashing beacons, or ground-level LEDs that alert drivers long before they reach the crossing. These simple visual cues have dramatically reduced accidents and have given residents and tourists the confidence that they can traverse their streets without fear.

 

Yet in Amman, despite ongoing efforts to improve urban mobility and safety, many pedestrian crossings remain poorly lit and inadequately marked, especially those located near foreign embassies scattered throughout the capital, where you can see foreigners trembling and dazed not knowing how and when to cross the road. A good example of this are the Zebra crossings on a main road such as the one on Zahran Palace street where many embassies are located.

 

It is time for embassies in Jordan to formally request the Greater Amman Municipality to install warning lights at the pedestrian crossings adjacent to their premises, just like what the Canadians did, just as it is customary in cities around the world. This is not a matter of diplomatic aesthetics or an unnecessary enhancement of the urban landscape. It is a practical, essential measure of public safety—one that protects residents, visitors, and especially young people who use these crossings daily on their way to schools, seeking visas, learning centers, and nearby parks.

 

The neighborhoods of Jabal Amman, Weibdeh, Abdoun, the Third Circle, Sweifieh, and others host a dense concentration of embassies and diplomatic missions. These areas, by their nature, involve heightened security measures, controlled traffic behavior, and frequent vehicle movements related to official visits or protocol duties. Ironically, the very same areas often feature pedestrian crossings that lack adequate lighting, paint, or visual alerts.

 

Even in broad daylight, crossing can feel risky; at night, it becomes a calculated gamble. Without warning lights that signal the presence of pedestrians, vehicles frequently approach these crossings at speeds unsuitable for such sensitive zones. The danger is magnified by the fact that diplomatic districts attract both official convoys and heavy daily traffic and pedestrians.

 

Warning lights are not urban decorations. They are core components of a safe street network. They transform a standard pedestrian crossing into an unmistakable signal to every driver: slow down, people may be crossing ahead. In diplomatically sensitive areas—where sudden stops or irregular vehicle behavior could trigger confusion or even raise security concerns—this kind of predictability and forewarning becomes even more important. Cameras ought to be placed to enforce priority to pedestrians, as latest trend of AI monitoring driving violations has been extremely successful in reducing traffic congestion and respecting priorities.

 

Cities across Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia have long adopted warning lights as an integral part of pedestrian infrastructure. Many rely on solar-powered LED systems that flash when movement is detected or stay illuminated from dusk until dawn. Others embed lights directly into the road surface, creating an unmistakable stream of brightness guiding drivers to slow down. These systems are inexpensive, energy-efficient, and widely proven to reduce accidents. If global cities—from Stockholm to Sydney, from Toronto to Tokyo—see these lights as indispensable, why does Amman continue to overlook this simplest of safety measures?

 

The cost is not the barrier, nor is the technology. Installing solar-powered pedestrian warning lights is one of the least expensive and most impactful investments a city can make, particularly after the judicial system has considered crossings as safe havens for pedestrians.

 

Even equipping dozens of crossings near embassies would require a fraction of the budgets typically allocated to road maintenance, or impact of injuries on the health system from accidents or urban beautification projects. The real challenge lies in prioritization, and this is where embassies can play a pivotal role.

 

Embassies are not isolated entities sealed behind walls; they are part of the urban fabric of Amman. They influence the daily flow of the neighborhoods they occupy, and they benefit directly from safer, more organized streets. A formal request from each embassy to the municipality can elevate the issue from a local concern to an urgent civic priority. Historically, diplomatic missions in many countries have participated in or supported improvements to their surrounding public spaces—for security, cultural, and community reasons. Encouraging Amman to adopt international safety standards for pedestrian crossings would be an extension of that tradition.

 

More importantly, this initiative concerns the safety of children, tourists and teenagers, the most vulnerable users of these streets. Around many embassies in Amman, there are schools, tutoring centers, cultural institutions, and recreational areas. Young pedestrians often lack the experience or judgment needed to gauge vehicle speeds or anticipate driver behavior. They rely on the city to protect them—and when the city fails, the consequences can be irreversible. A single warning light could prevent a tragedy. Saving even one young life or on one injury justifies the entire effort.

 

This is what transforms a small, inexpensive intervention into a major urban achievement. Warning lights at crossings near embassies would reduce accidents, raise driver awareness, improve security predictability, and demonstrate that Amman values the lives of its residents and visitors, thus expanding around the city. If one embassy takes the initiative and the municipality responds, others will follow, and within months the city could witness a remarkable shift toward safer, more modern pedestrian infrastructure.

 

The installation of these lights would not only bring Amman closer to international urban safety standards; it would send a powerful message about the city’s commitment to human life. It would show that in Amman, just as in the world’s safest and most advanced cities, the simple act of crossing the street should never be an act of risk, but one of confidence and safety.