Metro pedestrian crossings closure irks commuters

Dubai: Pedestrians are furious as they have been barred from crossing busy roads using the Metro pedestrian crossings after the stations close at night.

"I was barred from crossing the road, using the pedestrian bridge attached to the Financial Centre Metro Station on Shaikh Zayed Road. [The] guard on the gates told me that station [was] closed," said Narmeen Shamaa, who works at a hotel. She said that she had to take a taxi to go on the other side of the road.

Narmeen said the security guard at the station said that they had orders to close down the station and to bar the public's access to pedestrian bridges.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) had announced before the launch of the Metro that pedestrian bridges at the stations would remain open for the public round the clock, even when the Metro operation closes at night. However, the decision to keep the stations closed did not filter down to the public.

"Currently, due to some operational reasons, we are not allowing people to enter the stations to use the pedestrian bridges at night when the trains stop running," Peyman Younes Parham, RTA director of marketing and corporate communications, said.

Do you work or live near the Shaikh Zayed Road? Has the bridges' closure affected your daily routine? What, according to you, is the best solution for the issue?