Business | Opinion
The big traffic debate revisited
Will the addition of more Salik tolls and the ever nearing Dubai Metro affect property prices?
- By Ryan Mahoney, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:08 June 20, 2008
Will the addition of more Salik tolls and the ever nearing Dubai Metro affect property prices?
Traffic in Dubai has always been, and continues to be, a huge area for debate amongst Dubai residents. Since the implementation of the Salik toll gates almost a year ago now, the trip over Garhoud Bridge has become a much more pleasurable one and in the last year, work on the metro has developed at a rapid pace, with testing of the lines now taking place.
The Dubai government has been focused on doing all that it can to help eradicate the ongoing nightmare faced by so many Dubai residents on a daily basis as they venture to work. Initiatives that have been introduced include; increasing the number of bridge crossings and widening existing roads, introducing toll gates to encourage people to use alternative routes, and building the Dubai Metro system.
From a real estate perspective, the questions remain the same; will such measures have an impact on property prices in certain locations? Do people view areas close to the toll gates negatively? And, will Dubai Metro add value to those areas it serves?
With Salik, there have been positives and negatives. The positives are the eased congestion in certain areas around the toll gates and the negatives being the increased congestion of the roads that run parallel to the toll zones. The Greens is an example of a community which became heavily congested with vehicles avoiding the toll gate when it was first introduced.
It was recently announced that the number of Salik gates will increase from September which reduces the opportunity for people to avoid paying the Dh4 fee. So far, there has been little evidence to suggest that property prices or location preferences have been affected by the implementation of Salik and now with the new measures coming in, I imagine that going forward, Salik will have an even lesser effect on the decision making process for real estate.
Metro impact
On the other hand, I feel that the Dubai Metro is different. I think that this will be a massive, positive change for those living and working in Dubai; an alternative option to the traffic. In line with what happens in other cities with metro networks, I believe that the metro will have a positive impact on both residential and commercial property prices in the areas that it serves. People will be willing to pay more for the convenience of living near a station in the same way that retailers will choose to pay higher rents for shops situated near to stations with a high volume.
The only slight difference with Dubai when compared to other cities with metro's is that the premium prices will probably only be achieved by those properties located within a small radius of the station, owing to the fact that people here are less willing to walk distances due to the hot and humid conditions.
Dubai is a rapidly developing city with a rapidly developing real estate market. Prices have risen at pace and are now much more closely aligned with those in other developed cities. Fixing the traffic problem and providing residents with as many travel options as possible, should help finish the jigsaw!
The writer is managing director of Better Homes.
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