So, life in the new era. Seems to be pretty much what was expected. Chaos.
Shk Zayed Road this morning was carrying less than half of the usual traffic. I crossed Garhoud Bridge at about 8.15 without ever having to slow down for traffic in front. At a guess, Friday morning levels of traffic. Expensive bliss.
But...
My preferred alternative was impassible. From the Greens/Jebel Ali Racecourse roundabout to Al Khail Road, at a standstill. And I have just heard that the queue in the other direction backs up from the Barsha/Greens traffic signal all the way to the Al Khail Road slip.
Anyone comment on Al Wasl or Beach Roads?
EoD
01 July, 2007
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15 comments:
I went today morning through maktom bridge I already bought salik but I didn't got the SMS, so I didn't take garhoud , Later my friends told me you can use it without the SMS confirmation.
Maktom have more traffuc today I spend more than 20 min there (usually less than 10 min)
Airport road heading in to Dubai from Mirdiff was kinda clogged around 0830.
Someone who crosses from Bur Dubai to Deira said that Al Makthoum bridge was a nightmare. (dunno, that one is not a first hand account).
Too bad the Dubai Bolice had to turn off public access to the live traffic cameras.
Al Sufouh Road towards Media City was packed with long delays during morning peak - it's usually very easy.
I've also just been on Al Sufouh Road again late morning and the traffic is very much heavier than normal. That includes the road leading to Madinat Jumeirah from SZR, which is one of the turn-offs to avoid the tollgate.
Talking of Salik slow
https://customers.salik.ae/app/
Slowest site evar... its like being on Dialup :/ tried from three different parts of the world.
oops... day one and you're not allowed to log in :/ ERROR
Just wanted to know if the friggin tag is working or not. The account should show that the RTA stole AED 8 from me this morning..
Well, if patterns are anything to go by, traffic will be smooth as (n)ever on SZR for a little while, before people suck it up and decide to pay the toll. Then, we will be back to square 1.
Pattern? Parking meters. When parking meters are introduced to an area that has a serious parking problem, the immediate effect is, incredible availability of parking spaces. This is especially true to residential areas that have a lively restaurant/market area around it. People stop parking their cars there unnecessarily. Residents look for alternate parking areas that don't cost them money.
Then, when everyone realizes that there aren't any real alternatives, they go back to the same area.. and they pay up.
One must admit that the RTA did pick a good time to introduce Salik, now with schools being out and the traffic is relatively less. So at least people can figure out how to manage before schools are back on.
I still maintain that the RTA is the most evil organization, ever.
yes, I heard that from diera to Burdubai was a nightmare first hand as I posted earlier than this post. I tried logging in to see whether the rta deducted from my car sticker or not but to no avail also the system is not working and call centre says "sorry, it's busy", so much for working over night as reported by some publications.
I still maintain that the RTA is the most evil organization, ever.
Nonsense. They're merely servants doing as they're told. The responsibility lies in the same place as the power: at the very top of the pyramid.
You guys are being generous - for us living in Greens - the morning was gridlocked. I dont want to use salik as I go to jebel ali. It took me 45 minutes to get out Greens as someone in RTA decided to make one lane disappear on the slip road, made a no entry overnight in front of Desert Spring village. all heavy vehicles are now passing in front of Greens with Traffic backing up to Golf Course. The roads were not designed to handle this diversion.
I assume some landlords will now reduce rent of living in this area. But very thoughtless to introduce this without credible alternative roads. I will go out from my balcony, take some photos and post the chaos.
keep track
Anon @ 01 July, 2007 17:47
Shape of things to come! If people continue to avoid the toll gates slowy the free exits will vanish. Voila! no choice but to pay up!
fellow atheist said...
Beg to differ!
Your are right about the parking. Many thought it was a bad thing. It did solve some parking problems for the residents Now in residential areas one cannot find parking even after paying. But compared to Salik, it is more humane and least they do not charge for late night hours. And you are not charged twice once when you park and when you leave!
"If people continue to avoid the toll gates slowy the free exits will vanish. Voila! no choice but to pay up!"
-- atleast then let RTA say openly that they want us to pay for use of roads and motive is making money for use of roads - not use the sham of reducing traffic on shiekh zayed.
I think this whole thing will get better. I think the authorities will realise that it's wiser to introduce peak hours vs charging the same for all time. What's the point of having it digital for crying out loud, it's got to be smarter than that. There is a lot at stake remember i.e. the real estate in Dubai will directly be affected by this.
For me it was ok on the way back cuz the road was empty. On the way to work I take diff routes anyway and I didn't see a diff since I leave early in the morning
It took me an hour to get from Mall of the Emirates to the Greens yesterday afternoon... or "Salik Sunday" as they were calling it on the radio.
The thing is, I don't mind paying the 4 dirhams, but as we live in the Greens, we have no choice about the traffic as everyone is using our street as the alternative.
Oh well, I'm off tonight for a fortnights holiday, hopefully it'll all have calmed down by the time I get back!
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