It is a pious wish that is slow to materialise and disappointment is still visible on the faces of the Marrakchis, especially with the significant growth of the two-wheeler fleet and the absence of a traffic plan adapted to the new constraint.

Traffic in Marrakech has become anarchic, even infernal, due in particular to the recklessness of two-wheeler users who think they can do anything on the road, making life hard for motorists. This unpleasant situation is not without consequences insofar as it causes mood swings, irritation, and sometimes fights between road users.

The disorganisation of traffic now weighs on the city and its inhabitants who do not stop calling for the rapid implementation of cycling facilities so that motorists and two-wheeler users can finally bury the hatchet and live in harmony.

Today, we are truly witnessing a real anarchy, an indescribable mess, and disorder that reign supreme in Marrakech where laws do not seem to be made for everyone in traffic insofar as the highway code is flouted all day long by unscrupulous users.

And in this context, the lack of cycle paths and the recklessness of users are heavily blamed. It is therefore necessary to proceed as soon as possible with the development of these tracks, if not these lanes, with a view to mitigating this anarchy that is suffocating the city and establishing good cohabitation, which is unfortunately lacking these days, between the different road users.

To tell the truth, motorists are exasperated by the manifest contempt and behavioural faults of two-wheeler users who put their nerves to the test. They have erected the roadway as private property by driving in the middle of the road instead of positioning themselves, as is customary, on the right portion of the roadway dedicated to two-wheelers.

In the eyes of all, the solution to this situation necessarily involves the design of a traffic plan specific to the city, including the implementation of cycling facilities given the existence of a large fleet of two-wheelers, a specificity of the Ochre City, moreover.

The anarchic excesses that we witness daily on the city's roads have truly created traffic based solely on the good will of users who often forget that traffic is a “collective game.”

It is therefore high time for the City Council to take action by proceeding with the creation of cycling facilities insofar as road safety corresponds to a major public health and personal protection issue and is a cause that should mobilise the whole of society so that our relationship with the road changes profoundly.

An ordeal for two-wheeler users

Making Marrakech “drivable” is not only dependent on widening roads. There is an urgent need to create cycle paths in order to put an end to the daily ordeal of road users, knowing that the majority of victims of traffic accidents in the city intra-muros are two-wheeler users. Currently, Marrakech is suffocating under the weight of a vehicle fleet which, according to the latest estimates, counts some 150,000 vehicles in addition to nearly 200,000 motorised two-wheelers, 85,000 bicycles, 3,500 taxis, 180 buses, 150 horse-drawn carriages, and 1,500 carts.