Muscat: Oman is encouraging people to use public transport on roads in an effort to reduce congestion.
An increase in both the population and the number of vehicles on the road has lead to a growth in traffic congestion in Oman in recent years.
"A comprehensive traffic study is being carried out in Muscat Governorate, to plan efficient road networks in the city to meet the increasing size of traffic,” said Sultan Bin Hamdoon Al Harthy, Chairman of Muscat Municipality.
This traffic study will evaluate the current road network and decide what needs to be done to improve it in coming years. “An additional aspect of the study is to help prioritise procedures to improve the road networks and meet the needs in terms of identifying requirements for improving public transport,” Al Harthy pointed out.
It’s hoped also that a new improved road network, including the 57-kilometre six-lane Muscat Expressway, will help to ease the problem.
The study will be conducted in two phases. The first involves data collection through interviews of motorists, manual counts of vehicles, surveys of parking lots and assessing the number of accidents, as well as the traffic capacity of main roads and junctions.
The second stage will consider solutions to improve road networks like the building of new roads and linking existing roads to upgrade traffic efficiency. During the second stage of the study, signals will be set-up at main junctions to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. The municipality also has plans to straighten bends in some roads and apply one-way systems to ease the flow of traffic.
It hopes to arrive at a structural plan to meet traffic requirements in the governorate until 2025.
