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Jaywalkers walk past fines and accidents
Jaywalkers risk life, limb and fines; RTA planning 7 pedestrian bridges
- PUBLISHED: Sat 21 Feb 2015, 1:08 AM UPDATED: Tue 30 Jul 2024, 3:59 PM
Dubai - Dodging speeding cars and blindly dashing from one side of the road to the other is a common sight on Al Amman Street in Al Nahda, Dubai. Over the years there has been a regular stream of public requests to install speed breakers, walkover bridges, or a pedestrian crossing on the road since it has become extremely unsafe for both drivers and pedestrians.
Regular users of the road and residents of nearby areas have said that they have seen people jaywalking along with small children and sometimes having conversations on the mobile phone while trying to cross the four-lane road. However, till date nothing has been done to make Amman Street safer for the residents. It is one of the many areas in Dubai that requires a safe pedestrian crossing or walkover bridge.
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Khaleej Timestook a close look into the issues arising out of lack of regular road safety measures on the street. It was found that cars drive at speeds of over 100 km/hr and slow drivers are often flashed off the road and are even honked at. Considering the urgent need for a walkover bridge, officials at the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) said pedestrian bridges will be built over Al Amman Street this year.
Located on the Sharjah-Dubai border, the street is less than 100 meters away from Sharjah, when coming from Al Qusais Industrial Area 3. It is also home to sprawling residential complexes in Al Nahda, Dubai. It is a popular cross-over point for commuters who want to save time from traffic and Dh20 on taxi fare. Although Dubai Police issues a Dh200 penalty for jaywalkers in the area, residents feel the solution lies in zebra crossings or pedestrian over-bridges.
Popular landmarks on the road are NMC Speciality Hospital, Carrefour Mini Market and Sahara Centre in Sharjah. “It is probably one of the most dangerous roads in Dubai. Cars are always whizzing by at great speed and because there are over six bus stops on either side of the road, a large number of people are always seen trying to cross it,” said Indian national and resident of Sharjah, Deepu Kakapoyil.
Deepu crosses over to Dubai through a crack in the metal grill partition that divides the two Emirates. A regular user of public transport, Deepu finds it very convenient to cross over from Sahara Centre in Sharjah to Al Amman Street in Nahda, Dubai. However, Deepu said the real trouble lies in trying to cross Al Amman Street.
The speed limit on the road is 80km/hour and it is 40km/hr on the service lane. With limited or no signage on the road, drivers get confused and whiz past at 100km/hr.
It was found that there are no cameras to detect speeding as well, except for one at the Amman Street-Doha Road junction situated opposite Al Qusais Industrial Area 3.
“There is one speed limit signage near the NMC Hospital junction. After that till the end of the road, there is nothing,” said Issac Mathew, another resident of Al Nahda.
Residents who were surveyed also said that the closest pedestrian crossings are near the traffic junctions at NMC Speciality Hospital and the industrial area which are not in walking distances.
Engineer Maitha Obaid Bin Udai, Chief Executive Officer, Traffic and Roads Agency, RTA said: “After thoroughly monitoring the pedestrian movement at the mentioned location on Amman Street the RTA is currently studying the possibility of constructing a pedestrian bridge to meet the pedestrian demand.” She added: “RTA has developed a Pedestrian Safety and Mobility Action Plan for Dubai in order to reduce pedestrian accidents and to improve pedestrian mobility. As per the action plan recommendations and schedule RTA has provided and will continue providing facilities for pedestrians.”
RTA has also published traffic safety awareness leaflets for the public highlighting the importance of pedestrian crossings and the role of pedestrians and motorists at the pedestrian crossings and the fine for violators. Also, RTA has conducted several workshops on pedestrian safety at many locations targeting different groups and nationalities.
Khalid Usman, a Pakistani national said: “I work in a restaurant nearby and it takes me about 10-15 minutes to cross this road during peak hours. It is a nightmare and a bridge or crossing must be installed here immediately.”
Ajeesh Chandran, another Indian resident said: “There are cases when people are crossing the roads with children and bicycles as vehicles zoom past them within inches away. It is very scary and something must be done soon.”
New pedestrian bridges
The RTA will be constructing seven new pedestrian bridges this year, according to bin Udai. The official said that they are coordinating with Dubai Municipality to install bushes/shrubs in the median in order to stop jaywalking. “We also plan to have traffic calming measures in the residential/industrial areas to improve pedestrian safety. Improving pedestrian facilities near the public transport stations is another project,” she added.
Al Amman Street is a popular cross-over point for commuters who want to save time from traffic jams and Dh20 on taxi fare. - KT photos by Juidin Bernarrd
The proposal to build the seven bridges was announced in 2014 and RTA will pump in Dh40 million into the project. In 2014, RTA constructed 100 pedestrian bridges and recently, four pedestrian bridges were opened as part of the tram project.
The seven pedestrian bridges locations are Baghdad Street near HH Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistani School, Baghdad Street near Ponds Park, Al Rasheed Road near Hadeer Supermarket, Beniyas Road near Wharfage, Al Maktoum Street near Auto Mall, Al Meena Road near Capitol Hotel and Amman Street near Nahda 2. RTA is also looking at improving pedestrian safety near public transport bus stations, Metro and Tram Stations.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com