Three hours from Teela Hotel (Al Fath). See how the road hierarchy works and how residents' trips and pilgrims' trips share it. The route follows real roads and is coloured by road class.
Only two hours? Do stops 2, 3, 4 and 6: centre, Quba, residential streets with King Abdullah Rd, and the railway station. Then return.
Road network lens
Hierarchy
Rings: King Faisal Rd (1st), King Abdullah Rd, King Khalid Rd (3rd). Radials: King Abdulaziz Rd, Hijrah Rd, Sultana Rd, Sayyid al-Shuhada Rd.
Where does a road change class: lane drop, median ends, speed changes?
Interchange, signals or roundabout at each major node?
Coding details the model needs
U-turn spacing and banned lefts (arterials route lefts through U-turns).
Service roads along arterials: separate links or not?
Where local streets join arterials: that is where zone connectors go.
Controls and restrictions
Vehicle-restricted zones near the Haram and Quba, and when they apply.
Roadside parking that takes a lane on commercial roads.
Bus and coach-only access points.
Six questions for your colleague
Where does traffic queue on an ordinary weekday, and at what times?
What changes at prayer times, Fridays, Ramadan and Hajj: closures, one-way, shuttle routes, parking limits?
Where do coaches wait after dropping pilgrims? Which car parks work as park-and-ride?
Which neighbourhoods generate the main work and school trips? Where are the big employment areas?
Which new roads and developments are open, under construction, or only proposed?
Where would you put traffic counts to capture the city gateways and the main corridors?
Message to send your colleague
Could you take me on a roughly three-hour drive to understand Madinah for the strategic transport model? Ideally: central area and King Faisal Road, Quba, an ordinary residential neighbourhood and King Abdullah Road, Haramain station / Knowledge Economic City, Uhud, then Sultana Road. I'm most interested in the road network: main roads, junctions, U-turns and where it gets congested. A few short stops to see bus and coach access, parking, pedestrian movement and new developments would be great. Please adjust the route for today's traffic and show me the problem locations you know best.