Driven to despair at Global Village

Dubai: Just a walk through Global Village will unravel a treasure trove of cultures but the route to the magical place is a nightmare for most drivers, especially on Fridays, as they get stuck in endless traffic tailbacks.

A motorist said last Friday she wanted to visit Global Village for the first time and left her house around 6pm.

"I got stuck in traffic on Emirates Road .... After waiting 45 minutes in the crawling traffic, I decided to take the nearest exit and escape the traffic. I will visit Global Village on any other day," she said.

Nevertheless in the face of the traffic bottlenecks stand unruffled men who have vowed to manage traffic heading toward Global Village and make the journey as easy as it can get.

Gulf News met some of the most serene men who play a vital role in keeping the Global Village routes accessible to visitors.

Easing congestion

Warrant officer Jasem Mohammad Abdullah from Dubai Police's Traffic Department has been directing Global Village crowds for the last four years.

When all the allocated parking lots at the Global Village get filled up, the traffic police closes the gates to prevent more motorists from coming in because there is simply no place and they also cause tailbacks on the Global Village routes.

Abdullah said the pool of cars sees a sharp increase during weekends, especially on Fridays.

"Some visitors just do not understand and argue with police on why they have closed the gates. We try to absorb their anger and frustration, but some just go on and on and delay others on the roads as well," he said.

The warrant officer said in some situations, motorists refuse to move their cars unless police start issuing fines.

"We are here to ease traffic movement and not issue fines to visitors. We realise they have come here to enjoy and have fun and we do not want to ruin their happiness by issuing them fines.

"I wish a day passes without me having to issue a fine, but some just insist on violating rules," he said.

Abdullah said he has no complaints, except the lack of cooperation from the public.

He said he wants the visitors to know one thing that traffic police's job at Global Village is managing and easing traffic movement.

"Despite the fact that our job is to ease traffic movement, we do other jobs as well because at the end of the day we have to satisfy the public," the warrant officer said.

He said the public, however, is not cooperative with the traffic police at Global Village.

Warrant officer Abdullah said many motorists block traffic by arguing with traffic policemen in case they were directed to go to parking lots other than the ones they wanted to go to.

"When a parking lot is full, we close it and open the parking lot which follows it. Some motorists just stop moving and start arguing with policemen on why they closed the parking lot. This causes long tailbacks and adds to the congestion which is already there," he said.

Besides organising traffic movement, Warrant officer Abdullah and his team also lend a helping hand to motorists who get caught in some unusual situations.

Some motorists are so excited to get into Global Village that they even forget their car keys inside their cars and do not realise that until after coming back, said Abdullah.

In some other situations, motorists even forget at which parking lot they have parked their cars.

"In these situations, I have to send a call to every police motorbiker in every parking lot to help find the cars and that requires a lot of effort and time," warrant officer Abdullah said.

The officer said there is a crane which is always present at Global Village to help tow away cars that park behind other cars and block traffic.

"The crane helps us in towing away cars that block traffic by parking behind other cars. The crane puts those cars in other parking lots and when the motorist does not find his car, he contacts the operations room," he said.

He added the crane also helps in opening the doors of cars whose owners forget their keys inside.

Parking: Facility can hold 16,500 vehicles

According to statistics, there are 16,500 parking spaces in the Global Village on paved roads.

There is a sandy area between the Global Village and Arabian Ranches that accommodates 10,000 cars in case the other parking lots are full.

Global Village has the capacity to accommodate 70,000 individuals per day.

The number of visitors cxceeded the capacity on January 4, which coincided with the second anniversary of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, accession as Ruler of Dubai.