According to municipal officials in Abu Dhabi, a new addressing system is to be put in place across the city soon, allowing for every building and residence to be numbered in an orderly fashion. When completed, the unified address system will greatly assist the emergency services in locating people and places in need of immediate assistance.
The current system of listing the nearest landmark is ludicrous: ‘The house on the street opposite the supermarket is on fire.’
However, the new address system needs to be implemented quickly. All too often, similar plans are rolled out and they come to nothing or are too slow in their implementation.
More importantly, the unified address system needs to be introduced across all the emirates, allowing for a simpler set of standards to be applied to street names, numbering and districts. Imagine a time when electricity bills will actually refer to a correct address, rather than a computer-generated account number.
Those planning the move in Abu Dhabi need to be commended, but they should also ensure it happens soon enough and is logical.
