Abu Dhabi: When it comes to driving in the emirate, how would motorists rate the roads? Keeping aside the manners of other road users, a government body has reached out to residents to find out how they rank Abu Dhabi roads.
The Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with YouGov, released the findings of a survey that was carried out in the capital.
More than three out of five residents (63 per cent) said that Sheikh Zayed Road E11 was their favourite road to use in Abu Dhabi. The road is one of the busiest roads in the UAE with hundreds of vehicles using the fully modern highway to travel to Dubai and the northern emirates every day.
A total of 517 people of all nationalities aged between 18 and 40, which found that 97 per cent of residents rated Abu Dhabi’s roads as excellent or good quality with 95 per cent of residents claiming the roads were better than other countries.
More than 95 per cent of residents said they were impressed with the quality of the road networks and infrastructure in the city.
Khalifa Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Undersecretary of DoT: “The survey was commissioned by DoT as it was an opportunity for us to learn about the experience of the end users of the roads, the residents of Abu Dhabi. We are happy to see the results as it has shown that people are happy with our road infrastructure. We will also factor in all the feedback when it comes to planning of future projects.”
Results from the survey revealed that 44 per cent of residents were looking forward to using electric vehicles when it is rolled out, including 47 per cent of females compared with 42 per cent of males.
The study also found that older respondents were more likely to look forward to paperless transactions while autonomous transport was more anticipated by younger respondents.
Quick facts about the E11
- Sheikh Zayed Road stretches to almost 560 kilometres.
- It starts from the Al Ghuwaifat border with Saudi Arabia, and runs across the UAE up to the border post with Oman.
- The road that eventually became the E11 was first conceived in the mid-1960s, both as a commercial artery and a symbol of political unity among the independent emirates that were part of the Trucial States.
The E11 goes by many names, including:
- Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Road (previously known as Abu Dhabi-Ghuwaifat Highway)
- Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Road
- Sheikh Zayed Road
- Dubai-Sharjah Road
- Al Wahda Street
- Al Ittihad Street
- Sheikh Mohammad Bin Salem Road
- Al Manama-Ras Al Khaimah Road
