UAE | Traffic and Transport
Better address system will help residents find Dubai destinations
The current address system based on street numbers and landmarks is archaic for a growing city like Dubai, an expert in town planning has said.
- By Anjana Sankar, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:25 October 5, 2008
- ...government has to publicise the new system... , so that the public is aware of the... new names... and new numbers..., says Kathy Cusak, Nakheel.
- Image Credit: Anjana Sankar/Gulf News
Dubai: The current address system based on street numbers and landmarks is archaic for a growing city like Dubai, an expert in town planning has said.
Kathy Cusack, Head of Master Planning for Nakheel's Waterfront Project said as the city expands it needs to adopt modern town planning methods.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is currently working on a new address and directional sign system.
Kathy said it would usher in a new era of postage system in the city, while offering easy access to roads and streets for both residents and tourists.
RTA's new addressing and directional signs system in Dubai will adopt building numbers, and road and zone names as a base rather than district names.
Under the title "Easy Address, Smooth Access", the project aims to ease the movement of motorists and road users and give them easy access to their destinations.
A pilot project of the new address system is being introduced in Jumeirah 3. A sector of Shaikh Zayed Road from the 2nd to the 4th interchanges has also been selected to implement the directional sign system.
Kathy said the existing system of numbering the streets is confusing as street numbers are repeated from one suburb to another. "For instance, there is street 29 in Jumeirah 1, Jumeirah 2, Umm Suqueim 1. These repetitive numbering of streets makes it difficult to locate a destination. If you are not so sure of the place, it is hard to get around," said Kathy, who has around 15 years of experience in town planning, master planning and development.
A post-graduate in urban design who has led the strategic planning division of the council of the city of Sydney, Australia, prior to joining Nakheel, Kathy noted that cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, to name a few have long adopted the new address system. Under the new system, she said every street will bear a unique name and the buildings within the street will have individual numbers.
"The names will clearly distinguish each street from the other, and there will be a uniform numbering regime for buildings. For example, there will building numbers from one to 50 in a particular street.
"The same set of numbers will be repeated in all streets," said Kathy.
"That means," she added, "if you know the street name, it is easy to follow the numbers and reach any building."
According to her, having such a simplified address system will also help to have a direct postage system as individual buildings can be easily identified in various streets.
She said the authorities must help people change their mindset.
"The government has to publicise the new system through media campaigns, so that the public is aware of the advantages of having new names for their streets and new numbers for their buildings."
Have you ever faced any issue when giving someone directions to your house? Do you rely on famous landmarks to do so? Will the new system help in locating adresses or add to the confusion?Fill in the form bellow to send your comments.
Your comments
Could someone tell the police about the changes in road names, please? I had an accident in the newly renamed Al Manara Street (East) the other day but police kept asking me for the street number. They got so annoyed they put the phone down on me. It's not quite working yet ;-) Maybe the RTA should keep the numbers on the new signs for a while until everyone got used to the new system.
Birgit
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 06, 2008, 13:23
I prefer having street names for the larger streets (e.g. Al Manara, Umm Al Sheif, etc) to identify the area, but please keep the numbers for the smaller streets. On one hand it is easier to remember a number than an Arabic name which can be spelled 5 different ways in English, on the other hand if I am in street 24 and I have to go to street 30 I know it's a parallel street a bit further down. Easy!
Nina
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 06, 2008, 13:19
Highly welcomed. The new system is definitely a need for Dubai. But RTA also needs to correct its method of changing the name of a street in the same strech just because it crossed a flyover or interchange. Example, Hadiqa St and Meydan St are the same stretch of road with two names. This should be transformed into one name to ease further confusions.
Mazhar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 06, 2008, 13:10
The best thing RTA will do.Hope Sharjah will follow.
Abdus
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 06, 2008, 09:49
I do believe that, it is a great idea.It will help a lot in a rapidly growing city such as Dubai. I appreciate the efforts and thank you all in advance.
Abdalla
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 06, 2008, 08:38
Personally I prefer to use the street names instead of landmarks cause I think its more easy to follow on the maps or on GPS. The beginning will be difficult specially for the taxi drivers but in the final the result will be good.
raby
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 06, 2008, 01:29
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