Dubai A newly opened access road in Jumeirah Lakes Tower (JLT) next to a children’s play area is raising a storm with residents saying it poses a high accident risk from vehicles passing by to enter the community.
The road which opened last week cuts from the main road into Cluster E and incoming vehicles pass dangerously close to the area where children play.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen. Last week, three children were nearly hit as they bolted towards the main road while playing in the park. Luckily their mothers, who were not far behind, pulled them back in time.
“It’s scary. Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC) must close this access soon as it poses a risk for children,” said Sonia Gupta, a resident of Global Lake Views tower in Cluster E.
She expressed her concern in an email to DMCC: “I request a DMCC representative to take 10 minutes of their time and visit the place between 5.30pm and 6pm to see the danger that this access poses,” read Gupta’s email.
In response to the mail DMCC wrote: “The access is required for service vehicles to access community infrastructure and also for vehicle access to towers in the event of an emergency. Concordia (property managers) will review the access arrangements and assess if additional signage or billboards are required to restrict access to this area. The children’s dedicated play area is fenced and isolated from traffic, and your children need to take care when playing in this and other areas. They should at all times be under the close supervision of an adult. Furthermore, a much larger play area is available across the pedestrian bridge in the new JLT community park,” read the email to Gupta.
The response from DMCC has, however, not gone down well with residents. “It’s a very disappointing reply. Firstly, taking kids to the big park is not feasible as it involves walking quite a distance. It is not a convenient option for us,” said JLT resident Megha Hemdev.
