Dubai: Driven around the bend by daily traffic snarls caused by the ongoing canal expansion project, residents near Safa Park have urged the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to provide better access to Shaikh Zayed Road from service lanes.
Free flowing until recently, Al Wasl Road remains clogged for most of the day as motorists struggle to find their way through a maze of diversions.
Several internal roads in the Al Safa area have been closed to facilitate the Dh2 billion Dubai Canal Project.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Al Bada (Jumeirah 1) resident Mahnaz Faquih, who takes this route to pick up and drop off her children studying at Jumeirah Primary School (JPS) in Umm Suqueim 1 on Al Wasl Road.
“The traffic during after-school hours is really bad with tailbacks stretching as far as the eye can see,” she said.
The worst affected areas are Union Co-operative Society and Life Pharmacy signals and Hadiqa Street towards Safa Park. Salik evaders using some of these back routes add to the congestion.
“If this was not bad enough, several heavy-duty vehicles take this route to transport material and equipment to construction sites, said a marketing professional who works in the nearby Emarat Atrium complex. The traffic situation near Jumeirah Post Office is equally bad where there is a single left lane.
Not enough
“The two-lane road is not enough to handle the huge volume of cars diverted here. The RTA should increase the road capacity,” said Archana P., another Al Bada resident.
Although RTA has promised to add an extra lane near Business Bay Metro Station towards Shaikh Zayed Road, concerns are rising that new developments along Al Wasl Road will make the traffic situation even worse.
The opening of Citywalk, a new outdoor lifestyle destination located at Al Wasl and Al Safa road junction has also increased traffic. With two more projects — Dar Wasl Mall and Carrefour — coming up here, residents fear more traffic jams.
“I can’t imagine what it would be like in the future,” said a resident.
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