Dubai's Intelligent Traffic System is going to be extended to other parts of the city.
A source said that officials from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) have approached consultants to discuss phase two of the project.
He said the planned route of the extension has not been revealed, but engineers at the RTA have asked that areas close to the city centre be cov ered by the extension plan. The first phase is expected to be up and running in October and is expected to cost Dh100 million.
The system will provide real-time traffic updates to motorists travelling from Sheikh Zayed Road to Sharjah on the city's main artery.
There are also plans to put up English and Arabic screens with real-time traffic updates on various roads, including Emirates Road, Al Rasheed, Umm Hurair, Al Ittihad, Al Khaleej,Al Mina,Airport,Abu Baker Al Siddique and Baniyas Road.The three crossings over Dubai Creek will also be covered by the system.
Maitha bin Udai, the Chief Executive Officer of Traffic and Road Agency at the RTA, had said earlier: "The new system will bring down the total driving hours in Dubai by 1.5 million hours per year. This will also ease up traffic jams and bring down pollution." While intelligent transport systems can potentially reduce up to 40 per cent of traffic congestion in cities, Dubai is likely to experience a drop of 10 to 15 per cent, an industry insider has said.
It is expected that the system's extension is going to help push that percentage up.
The first phase of the project will see the installation of 500 radars along the system's routes. There will also be 50 cameras for traffic monitoring, 30 cameras to inform about accidents and 100 boards to show speed limits.
By Vesela Todorova
© Emirates Today 2006
