UAE | Traffic and Transport
Anger over lack of crossings in Al Ain
Residents have said there is a pressing need for zebra crossings on the city's roads and say they are not to blame for jay-walking cases lodged by the police.
- By Aftab Kazmi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 01:09 March 8, 2008
- Image Credit: Aftab Kazmi/Gulf News
- Residents say the design of Al Ain's roads favours motorists, not pedestrians, and fines for jay-walking are unfair.
Al Ain: Residents have said there is a pressing need for zebra crossings on the city's roads and say they are not to blame for jay-walking cases lodged by the police.
They describe Al Ain as "non-pedestrian friendly".
The traffic police recently fined more than 570 pedestrians for crossing the road in undesignated places.
The fines have been raised to Dh200 from Dh50 under the new unified traffic laws.
Omar Abdul Aziz, an expatriate, said the police and civic administration's intentions were focused on uninterrupted traffic on the city's roads but they were neglecting pedestrians.
"The streets' designs have been forcing people to take longer routes just to reach the other side of the road."
The situation will worsen in the hot weather as women and children will have to walk in the scorching sun, he added.
Rakesh Paguwal, another expatriate, said the authorities' intentions seemed to be to provide uninterrupted driving to motorists but this was being done at the expense of pedestrians.
"I believe, Al Ain is the most difficult or rather unfriendly city for pedestrians," he said.
Paguwal said the police should have provided more dedicated and convenient road crossings for the public before launching the campaign.
A Traffic Police Department official said drivers and pedestrians must treat each other with respect.
He said the police's engineering section always reviewed roads and took action to make them safer for motorists as well as pedestrians.
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