DUBAI, 28 August 2007 — The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority denied yesterday that it has started work on the second phase of the road toll tax. For the first time, Dubai introduced in July a toll tax on motorists who cross Garhoud Bridge and use Sheikh Zayed Road. Motorists who use the road have to pay the 24-hour toll when they pass the electronic tollgates. A fee of AED4 is automatically deducted from the motorist’s account.Before the launch of the Garhoud toll there was a lot of complaining early in 2007 -- on this blog even! -- that the toll was merely tax, that it would only make congestion worth, and so on. Did that pan out? How many of you find it easier now to cross the Garhoud and are glad there is a toll?
Rumors have been rife in the emirates about additional gates to be added. A report yesterday from Fujairah said that the authority had started work on eight new gates in the city. They included all the major routes in the emirate including Shindagha Tunnel, Maktoum Bridge, Floating Bridge, Emirates Road, Al-Khail Road, Nad Al-Hamar Road and Business Bay crossing.
However, Salah Al-Marzouqi, from the RTA denied the news report saying that the authority has no plans for the second phase of the project.
28 August, 2007
Salik to expand to speed you on your way?
From Arab News
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9 comments:
My views/observations on Salik are here: http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/2007/08/salik.html
I still haven't noticed much change from the listed observations.
Personally, the "traffic flow" pre-salik would have suited me better, but for some using the Garhoud bridge, apparently it is much clearer.
I still think it's too early to judge if Salik is "working" or not.
There is still a bottleneck on the Barsha tollgate at peak hours, which was never there before the tollgate was installed.
More traffic comes on to the "free exit" road coming into the Barsha area.
I suppose if there were more tollgates charging Dhs. 2 as opposed to Dhs. 4, the traffic would "spread out" more, and there would be less of the congestion that one observes now at a)the tollgates b)the free exits.
hello professor John Blackwell Chilton, see u tomorrow in class.
Blackwell hah???
Crossing Garhoud is easier and I don't mind paying the toll, but going elsewhere has become even more of a nightmare than it was before. If the measure of success is improving things on SZR, then it's a moderate success. If the measure of success is overall improved traffic situation in Dubai, then it's a miserable failure.
I don't cross Garhoud so I don't know about traffic over there. For me it's only becoming more difficult to get anywhere since Salik. I used to drive on Khail Road to and from work, but because of the traffic jam around Barsha I have to use SZR now.
For anyone who still thinks that Salik means clear, I would suggest to try to get from Marina to MOE, any given afternoon.
just i had always predictied!
Salik has not and cannot tackle the entire flow of traffic in Dubai. It can merely discourage the use of the roads in certain areas and redirect the traffic elsewhere.
SO.. Traffic on Garhoud Br. has been significantly reduced BUT at the expense of clogging up all the other roads in Dubai
Garhoud towards dubai in the morning is very clear, but going towards diera in the evening is a nightmare.Y'day it took 1 hr to reach city centre from tradecentre r/a and i fear the worst is about to come after schools reopens.
i travel SZR everyday but fortunately in the opposite direction to traffic flows. in the evenings, traffic starts building up all the way before the second interchange (coming from jebel ali)
and in teh mornings, it's clogged upto the somehwere between 2nd and third interchanges.
yes, salik on garhoud and blocking off roads leading onto dubai - sharjah highway has helped immensly :) it takes less than 20 minutes getting to al khan area from the first interchange.
im still waiting for the first week of sept, when dubai will break loose.
Great comments about the effects of the Garhoud toll. And the advice we won't know the full consequences until Dubai is back in full post-Summer traffic. Keep them coming.
What about the rumors that there will be more tolls? Do you see evidence they are true? And what do you predict will be the effect of additional tolls?
yes, salik on garhoud and blocking off roads leading onto dubai - sharjah highway has helped immensly :)....
Soon these blocking will become too tempting and number of blocked lanes will increase to such a level that ppl will have no option but to pay the toll. When every one starts using the toll road.. Voila we are back to where we started from!!!!!!!!!!
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