Dubai: Residents in the Remraam community, Dubai, are facing daily traffic congestions as the only gate open provides a one-lane exit for the thousands of people leaving the area every morning.
Residents said they start their day waiting in bumper-to-bumper traffic for at least 45 minute before starting their daily school runs and journeys to work.
The gate intersecting Remraam Desert Road and Remraam Road is the only point of entry and exit for the hundreds of residents living in the community. The second gate placed on the opposite side of the community, which provides easy access to Emirates Road, has remained closed for several months.
Promised a solution by developers Dubai Properties (DP) in November 2016, residents said they have not seen any progress yet.
British Abdula Faisal, resident of four years, said the traffic congestion, which started around six months ago, takes place everyday between 6:45am and 8am. “There are almost 6,000 families living in Remraam, and if only 1,000 cars have to exit in the mornings to go to work, we all have to leave as early as 5:45-6am to be able to get out of Remraam before 7am,” he said.
Faisal pointed out it takes between 45 minutes to one hour to exit a one to two kilometers stretch every morning. “More families have moved into Remraam and DP has also released around 10 buildings in new Al Ramath area, and all these residents will have to use the same one exit,” he added.
Another resident Michel Halaby from Lebanon said the traffic situation has worsened giving residents no choice but to leave an hour early in order to reach their destination on time. “If I was not an owner of a property, I would have moved out of Remraam. I have tried to contact DP but did not get an aswer,” he said.
Just the same, Turkish Zeynup Degirmencioglu, said her five-year-old daughter is sometimes late for school, which is only 10 minutes away from Remraam. “I now park my car outside the community to avoid the traffic, and then walk with my daughter for 15 minutes to reach the car outside Remraam. It would otherwise take up to 50 minutes just to exit, and staying in the car for that long makes my daughter sick,” she explained.
The concerned mother, said she has also seen motorists drive dangerously in the opposite direction just to avoid the traffic.
Gulf News talked to DP, who said a permanent and effective resolution to the traffic congestion in Remraam is a high priority project.
“Formative progress has taken place onsite, however fundamental steps in the road expansion plan including, completing and approving the design from all relevant authorities, as well as obtaining the necessary permits to work, have been completed,” said the spokesperson.
“We acknowledge the disruption in the community and would like all residents to know that DP also wants the situation to improve immediately. At the same time, we must ensure that all guidelines of changing the community infrastructure plan are strictly followed and met, for the long term benefit of residents,” added the spokesperson.
Referring to the delays, DP said they are taking all necessary measures to speed up this process.”We do not take for granted the safety and comfort of our residents, and sincerely regret the impact this is having on them in the mornings.”
