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29 March 2024

RTA moves to make Skycourts junction safer

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

Dubai Police and Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) have moved after a major accident – which caused an ambulance to be called to the scene on the night of March 14 – at an unlit road junction near Skycourts in Dubai.

Roadblocks were set up on Saturday to curb excessive speeding on the roads that lead to both Skycourts and The Villa developments in Dubailand, where some 4,000 people are estimated to live.

“I have seen at least three accidents since I started living in Skycourts from the beginning of this year,” said R Kumar, a resident. “People coming in from Al Ain Road and those going out are both in a great rush. Residents are mostly young and use excessive speed on this internal road.

“Though roads are clearly marked, people do not always follow the lanes. I have seen people driving the wrong way to get to the building,” Kumar pointed out.

 “There are street and traffic lights, but they do not work and at night, this key junction is not lit,” he added.

Over the past months residents have been complaining of the lack of traffic lights, which causes them to surrender to the mayhem of self-regulation and which has triggered the three car accidents so farthis year.

“I just drove off Al Ain Road today heading home, and they were just filling up some hazard barriers at the junction without the lights working. Looks like you can only go straight across now with no traffic can approach from the left or right,” reports one person from The Villa community.

Although efforts to minimize accidents are appreciated, most residents say that more needs to be done and that the barriers are not a solution.

“From what I can see this will make life worse as people will find ways around the barriers and now you will get cars in 'unexpected' places. That crossing shouldn't be a nightmare - all you have to do is assume the other person, that you have presumably seen, isn't going to stop,” says a Villa Community Forum resident.

Cars have been reported to respond to the road barriers in a ‘smart’ way, taking an illegal u-turn, going down the road the wrong way to take a short cut and drivers were even seen removing the barriers in order not to prolong their route into the area.