Dubai Investment Parks (DIP) has recently emerged as a clean and green community area, attractive to families for its residential buildings, community parks, schools, clinics, and other amenities. However, there is an important issue that people living and working in DIP Phase 2, a sub-community of DIP, seem to be facing – dimly lit streets and the lack of enough streetlights.
When Gulf News received complaints regarding this issue, we went around DIP 2 to investigate and speak to tenants to find out more. We discovered that while there are some street lights dotting the main roads, there are many inner bylanes which lack any lights at all. Moreover, roundabouts are also not entirely lit.
Katherine L. Domingo, a 42-year-old Filipina expatriate, told Gulf News: “Our family moved to DIP 2 in 2019. We chose this location because the rooms were spacious and everything was close by – a supermarket, a salon, a pharmacy, and the rents were affordable. I work in Jumeirah Lakes Towers and drive back every evening, it gets so dark on the streets, sometimes it’s hard to see people cross the roads.
“After sundown, I also don’t send my children out to buy something from the grocery store, even though it’s a very short walking distance…. Normally, I wouldn’t mind sending them out if we lived in other communities in Dubai, as they are well lit.”
Another Indian expatriate, Naina Brij, who has recently moved to a residential building in DIP 2 said: “It’s not possible to go for an evening walk around the block in DIP 2. Not only do some areas lack pedestrian pathways, they are so dimly lit that you can’t see too well. There are five or six residential buildings in the area where I live, but post-sunset there’s low visibility. I step out only if necessary.”
People working in DIP 2 face the same issue, regardless of whether they are pedestrians or motorists.
“I have been working in DIP 2 for the past two years, and until now, I haven’t seen a single street light in the lane that leads to my office from the main road,” said Nivetha Dayanand.
“I usually pack up after work around 7.30pm, when it's pitch dark outside. Since I don’t drive, I used to walk down to the Pace Food Stuff bus stop, which is near Fida Al Madina Supermarket. When I leave, I usually turn on the torchlight on my phone or talk to a friend while walking. When the lane joins the main road, it's absolute chaos because there is no footpath. We (pedestrians) are forced to walk on the main road within the yellow line.”
“Three months ago, the management started construction work on the main road (on Street 70) near the roundabout. Because of this, pedestrians were forced to walk in the sandy patch between the buildings and the road (this is where construction equipment and vehicles were parked).
When Nivetha called the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to report the issue, she was told that the jurisdiction doesn’t fall under RTA, but Dubai Investment Park.
Shyam K, who works in DIP 2 and drives to the locality every day complained: “It’s so dangerous. Recently, I was at the roundabout near Street 1, and suddenly a person casually crossed the road where there is no pedestrian crossing, the road was so dimly lit that I would not have seen him crossing if I wasn’t looking carefully. It’s very difficult for motorists.”
DIP Operations team responds
Gulf News raised the complaint with the DIP management. While they said that the existing streetlights were “fully lit”, they confirmed that they were working towards installing more streetlights.
The DIP Operations Team told Gulf News: “Dubai Investments Park (DIP) is committed to upholding the highest standards of infrastructure enhancements, facilitating convenience, comfort, and safety within all the integrated zones. We recently completed our LED lights retrofitting and it is an ongoing project. In line with our commitment to efficiency and minimising disruption, we have devised a phased approach for the implementation of the lighting project. This approach will ensure a systematic and controlled deployment while allowing us to address any unforeseen challenges effectively.
“In line with the RTA mandate, streetlights across all residential, industrial, commercial, and all the main roads within DIP are fully lit. DIP would like to assure and confirm that all necessary approvals towards expanding the lighting project into the service roads are in their final stages with a planned implementation soon.”
Addressing the security concerns the team added: “DIP’s comprehensive CCTV camera management with the state-of-the-art surveillance system is another security aspect designed to enhance the safety of all residents and businesses. DIP’s operations team works relentlessly with all the concerned authorities in ensuring an exceptional living and working experience within DIP. DIP deploys 24 patrolling securities divided into two shifts who work side by side with Dubai Police for any security issues.”
The team added that if a tenant or an employee working in DIP needs to raise a complaint about street lights or similar community issues, they can do so in the “feedback section on the DIP website [dipark.com] under the Contact Us page is designed specifically to provide a platform to raise any complaints or share valuable feedback. The feedback section aims to streamline the process, ensuring the voice is heard and allows DIP to take action within 24-48 hours to address any concerns.”
