Dubai: Residents of Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) complain that lack of pedestrian crossings on the First Al Khail Road, behind the sprawling development is forcing them to jaywalk and risk their lives.
Dozens of people who work on the other side of First Al Khail Road, run across the busy motorway dodging traffic from either direction, The entire stretch of around 4-5km, which includes a flyover, does not have a single zebra crossing or a footbridge, leaving people residents and office-goers with no choice but to dash across.
“I work in an office building on the other side of First Al Khail Road, which is right across the JLT metro station. There are dozens of others like me who travel on metro and walk to office from there, just a few hundred metres away, which is not a problem, but the real problem is crossing the road,” said Roda Collado.
The speed limit on the road clearly marked at 60km/h, but no speed breakers on the road or absence of cameras means the motorists just zip through, without showing any respect to pedestrians.
“This is a very dangerous situation. There is an accident waiting to happen here. We have taken it up with the authorities several times over the last six months but to no avail. The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, which manages JLT has said the road belongs to Roads and Transport Authority [RTA] and they are not responsible for any upgrades, so we approached RTA but so far nothing has happened despite repeated requests,” said Mike Al Samman, Director of Public Relations, GCC Services, which is located on the eastern side of First Al Khail Road.
Several of JLT residents as well as residents of villas behind JLT, are forced to driver or take a taxi to cover, what is actually a distance of just 200 metres.
“I live in a villa just behind JLT and my offices are located in JLT at a walking distance from my home, but I m scared to cross the road as there is no designated zebra crossing and traffic is generally fast, so I don’t have an option but to take a taxi. If there were pedestrian crossings I could have easily saved Dh20 that spend on taxis every day,” said another affected resident who wished to remain anonymous.
Traffic is at its peak during the morning and evening rush hours and this is when the pedestrians find the most difficult to cross the road.
“We commute mostly during peak hours and this is when it is most difficult. Most of the times we have to wait on the edge of the road for 10 to 15 minutes to cross the roads and we just dash across when we find traffic a little thin. I hope authorities will put up some crossings for pedestrians before there is any fatal accident,” said Ailyn Aguilar, a Filipina who works at the Mazaya Business Avenue, which is located the opposite side of JLT on First Al Khail Road.
Eng, Hussain Al Banna, Director Traffic at RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency said the authority is working towards enhancing pedestrian safety in coordination with the developer.
“There are some works yet to be completed within this area which is currently handled by the contractor contracted by the Developer. RTA will coordinate with the developer to install all the safety features necessary for pedestrians like speed humps, zebra crossings, traffic signals etc. as soon the pending works are completed by the contractor to enhance the safety in the area,” said Eng. Hussain Al Banna
A Spokesperson from JLT Developer, DMCC, was immediately not available for comments.
