DUBAI, 19 May 2006 — The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Police to jointly strive toward easing traffic congestion in the city. The MoU envisions forming of a new traffic body headed by Hashim Al-Hashimi, director of Traffic Department, RTA, and comprising the head of Intelligent Traffic System, traffic police officers, representatives from traffic service and officers from Traffic Safety Department.
The new body will be responsible for studying and streamlining work procedures essential to eliminate the burgeoning traffic crisis and coordinating the functioning of traffic lights in the emirate. To facilitate the exchange of ideas and to accelerate work pace, the team will closely coordinate with RTA and Dubai Police and will share information on roadblocks caused by accidents and violations of traffic rules.
The new team will work toward providing integrated traffic solutions, which include conducting awareness programs for bus drivers, construction of pedestrian bridges for safety, especially on major freeways like Sheikh Zayed Road, Emirates Road and Damascus Road. Efforts will also be made to ensure that truck movements adhere to the time and speed limit specified.
The MoU also entails members of the new traffic team to make regular visits to different areas in the emirate to study traffic problems and take appropriate measures to resolve them. “Through this MoU, we’re seeking to strengthen our coordination and communication with Dubai Police in order to collectively find solutions to ease traffic congestions caused by accidents and traffic violations. The main objective behind constituting the new body is to develop an effective mechanism to deal with traffic accidents, ensuring that vehicles are moved away from accident spots quickly. We’ll be periodically evaluating the performance of this team and will streamline its functions constructively on the basis of the feedback we receive,” Hashimi said.
Meanwhile, RTA has also launched the prototype of the world’s first air-conditioned bus shelter last week. The futuristically designed, crescent shaped shelters will have a contemporary metallic finish and sliding doors. Over a period of 18 months, more than 500 such bus shelters will be built all across Dubai. According to officials, the ultramodern bus shelters will have a range of facilities such as ATMs and vending machines for newspapers, snacks and soft drinks.