Written scenario · Equity, Ethics

Two hours without the bridge

You sit on a city transportation advisory committee.

Security officials have asked the city to close the main river bridge for two hours on a weekday morning so that a visiting head of state's convoy can cross safely. Thousands of commuters would be late, and fire trucks would take about eight minutes longer to reach one neighborhood on the far bank. Jamila, who speaks for that neighborhood, says its residents are being asked to carry the risk for everyone else. The officials say the time cannot be moved and a shorter closure would not be safe. The committee must recommend whether to approve the closure and what conditions, if any, to attach.