I live in Sharjah and work in Deira (Clock Tower). I had to leave by 6 every morning to reach office by 7 am. If I leave beyond 6:15 am, I would reach Deira by 7:30 the earliest.
Motorists raised some suggestions in the past to solve the traffic congestion in Al Ittihad road. There were suggestions to put up bridges or to develop new routes or to open the Mamzar exit to private cars. Apparently, the authority thought of Salik as the “best” solution.
Would it really reduce congestion? RTA sees that the installation of new Salik tollgates will divert traffic into other “less-utilized roads” like the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road (formerly Emirates Road), Dubai Bypass Road and Al Khail Road. So soon these roads will be jammed because of traffic diversions.
They’re also expecting that a significant number of motorists would opt to use public buses and the Metro to avoid the toll fee.
In other countries, a tollgate is installed if, and only if, new facilities are constructed – like a new bridge, tunnels or exit roads for example. In Dubai-Sharjah road, none is new.
The Mamzar and Airport Tunnel tollgates will be operational from 15th April 2013.
What do you think about this?