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ARMENIA'S ROADSIDE MEMORIALS: WILL THE "NORTH-SOUTH HIGHWAY" ERASE ALL TRACES
Sara Petrosyan
hetq
11:43, June 5, 2012
The road to Gyumri, Armenia's second city, passes through a repetitive
set dry and empty of fields. For a passenger like me, it gets quite
boring.
As a diversion, I try and read the inscriptions on the roadside
monuments set up here and there to commemorate those who have died
due to traffic accidents.
I ask my chauffeur friend what he feels as he drives past these
numerous stone monuments and wreaths of flowers to honor traffic
victims. He replies that they are a good thing, reminding other
drivers of the fatal hazards awaiting those who do not obey the rules
of the road.
Now, my work takes me outside Yerevan every two weeks or so, especially
to Gyumri. Every time I make the trip, it seems that the number of
these roadside monuments gets larger and larger.
I mention this observation of mine to my driver. His response is
simple: "If these reminders didn't exist the number of traffic
fatalities would be much greater." Go figure, I think to myself.
Many others I've spoken to share this belief. While, I can't argue
with the logic I still am inclined to disagree.
But there's the flip side to this as well. Many have told me that
these roadside monuments and ad-hoc memorials of flowers divert their
attention while driving. Sometimes they even impart an impending
sense of fear and foreboding.
Take the roads from Yerevan to Gyumri and Syunik. Regular drivers on
these routes complain that certain sections are in terrible shape
and present a number of hidden hazards. They claim that the lack
of proper road signs only adds to the number of road accidents on
these stretches.
I wanted to find out what the RA Road Police thought about all this
and what measures they were taking to minimize the risks.
The police replied that in addition to the installation of speed
cameras they also carry out road inspections every spring and fall. If
they find areas of road in disrepair, reports are submitted to the
appropriate agencies.
They didn't say if their reports are ever acted upon; i.e. if proper
warning signs are posted to alert drivers to the dangers lurking ahead.
In practice, all drivers can rely on for such information are the
roadside memorials and wreaths of flowers. This is the scenario all
over Armenia, but especially on the roadways leading from the Ararat
Marz to Vayots Dzor and Syunik beyond.
I try to remember what my friends living overseas said when I asked
them if they knew of another country where such roadside memorials
were an accepted practice. They couldn't come up with one country.
I shudder to think what our highways in Armenia would look like in
a few years given the yearly rise in road accidents - a veritable
graveyard of stones and flowers.
According to figures supplied by the RA Police, in 2011 and up to
May of this year, 24 traffic accidents have been registered on the
Yerevan-Yeraskh-Goris-Meghri-Iran highway, resulting in 6 fatalities
and 39 injured. During the same period, 27 road accidents have been
registered on the Yerevan-Sevan-Ijevan-Azerbaijan highway; resulting
in 8 fatalities and 54 injured.
Back in the Soviet era, the road police would show off the crushed
and mangled remains of cars to alert drivers to the risks involved
of reckless and inattentive driving. This practice was removed from
public practice a long time ago.
Instead, it is now up to the family and friends of road accident
victims to remind others of the risks with their memorials and flowers.
I then wondered if prior permission was needed to erect such roadside
memorials, so I wrote to the regional authorities of Aragatzotn,
Shirak and Vayots Dzor - regions that boast the most monuments.
I wanted to know what the authorities thought about these memorials,
or if they thought about them at all. Had anyone ever tried to steer
through the regional bureaucracy in order to legally erect such a
memorial to a loved one? Was there such a formal application procedure
at all?
The answers I received were quite clear. No one had ever applied
to the local authorities prior to erecting such memorials. It was a
spontaneous exercise in expressing grief.
Even if a family member were to apply for such a permit, local
authorities are not authorized to allot a patch roadway for any
purpose.
I was told that due to safety reasons, such impromptu memorials along
the road shoulders are not allowed. But it seems that no one cares
once they are erected.
The general attitude of officials is - The family is already grieving,
why should we give them something else to grieve about.
The private memorials, large and small, are left alone.
The "North-South Road Corridor" project will soon get underway in
Armenia. It is supposed to upgrade and widen the existing highway
from Yerevan to Gyumri and the Georgian border beyond according to
international standards. The same will be done to the highway leading
from Yerevan to Meghri in the south.
It is envisaged that the program will contribute to the socio-economic
development in Armenia and expanded regional trade.
Local community leaders have been instructed not to clog up the
planned roadway with any new structures. There must be 70 meters of
empty space of both the right and left sides of the median.
So what will happen to these private memorials and stones erected by
the grieving friends and families of traffic accident victims?
Naturally, the directives of the government will win the day.
The new highway will bury all traces of prior road fatalities under
the newly installed asphalt.
Local officials know all this and, in an attempt to avoid further
grief, they should prevent the erection of any new memorials.
Perhaps the "North-South Road Corridor" project will help our people
refrain from yet another objectionable custom.
Sara Petrosyan
hetq
11:43, June 5, 2012
The road to Gyumri, Armenia's second city, passes through a repetitive
set dry and empty of fields. For a passenger like me, it gets quite
boring.
As a diversion, I try and read the inscriptions on the roadside
monuments set up here and there to commemorate those who have died
due to traffic accidents.
I ask my chauffeur friend what he feels as he drives past these
numerous stone monuments and wreaths of flowers to honor traffic
victims. He replies that they are a good thing, reminding other
drivers of the fatal hazards awaiting those who do not obey the rules
of the road.
Now, my work takes me outside Yerevan every two weeks or so, especially
to Gyumri. Every time I make the trip, it seems that the number of
these roadside monuments gets larger and larger.
I mention this observation of mine to my driver. His response is
simple: "If these reminders didn't exist the number of traffic
fatalities would be much greater." Go figure, I think to myself.
Many others I've spoken to share this belief. While, I can't argue
with the logic I still am inclined to disagree.
But there's the flip side to this as well. Many have told me that
these roadside monuments and ad-hoc memorials of flowers divert their
attention while driving. Sometimes they even impart an impending
sense of fear and foreboding.
Take the roads from Yerevan to Gyumri and Syunik. Regular drivers on
these routes complain that certain sections are in terrible shape
and present a number of hidden hazards. They claim that the lack
of proper road signs only adds to the number of road accidents on
these stretches.
I wanted to find out what the RA Road Police thought about all this
and what measures they were taking to minimize the risks.
The police replied that in addition to the installation of speed
cameras they also carry out road inspections every spring and fall. If
they find areas of road in disrepair, reports are submitted to the
appropriate agencies.
They didn't say if their reports are ever acted upon; i.e. if proper
warning signs are posted to alert drivers to the dangers lurking ahead.
In practice, all drivers can rely on for such information are the
roadside memorials and wreaths of flowers. This is the scenario all
over Armenia, but especially on the roadways leading from the Ararat
Marz to Vayots Dzor and Syunik beyond.
I try to remember what my friends living overseas said when I asked
them if they knew of another country where such roadside memorials
were an accepted practice. They couldn't come up with one country.
I shudder to think what our highways in Armenia would look like in
a few years given the yearly rise in road accidents - a veritable
graveyard of stones and flowers.
According to figures supplied by the RA Police, in 2011 and up to
May of this year, 24 traffic accidents have been registered on the
Yerevan-Yeraskh-Goris-Meghri-Iran highway, resulting in 6 fatalities
and 39 injured. During the same period, 27 road accidents have been
registered on the Yerevan-Sevan-Ijevan-Azerbaijan highway; resulting
in 8 fatalities and 54 injured.
Back in the Soviet era, the road police would show off the crushed
and mangled remains of cars to alert drivers to the risks involved
of reckless and inattentive driving. This practice was removed from
public practice a long time ago.
Instead, it is now up to the family and friends of road accident
victims to remind others of the risks with their memorials and flowers.
I then wondered if prior permission was needed to erect such roadside
memorials, so I wrote to the regional authorities of Aragatzotn,
Shirak and Vayots Dzor - regions that boast the most monuments.
I wanted to know what the authorities thought about these memorials,
or if they thought about them at all. Had anyone ever tried to steer
through the regional bureaucracy in order to legally erect such a
memorial to a loved one? Was there such a formal application procedure
at all?
The answers I received were quite clear. No one had ever applied
to the local authorities prior to erecting such memorials. It was a
spontaneous exercise in expressing grief.
Even if a family member were to apply for such a permit, local
authorities are not authorized to allot a patch roadway for any
purpose.
I was told that due to safety reasons, such impromptu memorials along
the road shoulders are not allowed. But it seems that no one cares
once they are erected.
The general attitude of officials is - The family is already grieving,
why should we give them something else to grieve about.
The private memorials, large and small, are left alone.
The "North-South Road Corridor" project will soon get underway in
Armenia. It is supposed to upgrade and widen the existing highway
from Yerevan to Gyumri and the Georgian border beyond according to
international standards. The same will be done to the highway leading
from Yerevan to Meghri in the south.
It is envisaged that the program will contribute to the socio-economic
development in Armenia and expanded regional trade.
Local community leaders have been instructed not to clog up the
planned roadway with any new structures. There must be 70 meters of
empty space of both the right and left sides of the median.
So what will happen to these private memorials and stones erected by
the grieving friends and families of traffic accident victims?
Naturally, the directives of the government will win the day.
The new highway will bury all traces of prior road fatalities under
the newly installed asphalt.
Local officials know all this and, in an attempt to avoid further
grief, they should prevent the erection of any new memorials.
Perhaps the "North-South Road Corridor" project will help our people
refrain from yet another objectionable custom.