It is a daily ritual for many Dubai residents — spending inordinate amount of time in traffic snarls. Mirroring the rapid development and dynamism of the city, traffic density is becoming a significant aspect of the lifestyle in the emirate. Despite the staggering investment in road infrastructure by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and its stellar work of providing a world-class road network, the need for more road kilometres is on an upward curve. The fact that Dubai’s road mileage has grown by 50 per cent in the past eight years speaks of the commitment the RTA has made to the public to improve their daily life. Yet, the need to think of radical solutions is imperative as Dubai gears up for Expo 2020.
The fallout of persistent traffic congestion is debilitating: Apart from placing an enormous load on existing road infrastructure, leading to fuel wastage and vehicle wear and tear, it also impacts a resident’s quality of life by bringing on stress and exhaustion due to the hours spent simply commuting from one destination to another. Added up, it amounts to a huge scale of unproductive time per year. For example, an estimated Dh4-5 billion has been lost in the last eight years in terms of traffic man-hours in Dubai.
Driven by such critical data, the RTA is proposing smart solutions such as changed school timings and introduction of flexible office hours, to name two. Bringing a legislative urgency to these issues will ensure the road ahead for Dubai is speedy and smooth.
