Business & Money | Friday 2 January, 2015 11:27 am |

Traffic has turned from bad to worse following the closure of five left turns and U-turns on roads running parallel with the tramway in Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).
Dubai Tram, which passes through more than 30 traffic intersections in Dubai Marina, JBR and Al Sufouh, began operations on November 12.
Though it has proved to be a popular mode of transport internally in the areas it serves, motorists feel the recent changes to the road network around the tramway has had an adverse affect on traffic movement.
“I do understand the idea behind closing the left turns, but driving becomes very difficult and there are more traffic jams now that they have closed the left turns and U-turns at five major junctions,” said Sameer Abdullah, a JBR resident.

No left turn along tram
Motorists miffed by closure of left turns on roads along tramway
By Shafaat Shahbandari, Staff ReporterPublished: 16:54 December 31, 2014Gulf News
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Dubai: Traffic has turned from bad to worse following the closure of five left turns and U-turns on roads running parallel with the tramway in Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).
Dubai Tram, which passes through more than 30 traffic intersections in Dubai Marina, JBR and Al Sufouh, began operations on November 12.
Though it has proved to be a popular mode of transport internally in the areas it serves, motorists feel the recent changes to the road network around the tramway has had an adverse affect on traffic movement.
“I do understand the idea behind closing the left turns, but driving becomes very difficult and there are more traffic jams now that they have closed the left turns and U-turns at five major junctions,” said Sameer Abdullah, a JBR resident.

Another resident said: “The roads were already congested when significant space was eaten up by the tramway and now, with the closure of U-turns and left turns at key intersections, driving has become more difficult around Dubai Marina.”

However, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) insists that the closure of left-side turns at the Dubai Marina and the JBR is part of precautionary measures undertaken to step up the level of traffic safety along the tramway, particularly, in the vicinity of signalised junctions on the tramway, where the tram movement overlaps with vehicles movement.
Maitha bin Udai, CEO of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, stated that such measures covered left-side and U-turns at intersections where vehicles movement flows parallel to the direction of the tram movement, for the sake of enhancing the traffic safety of all road users.

“The RTA can confirm that other options are made available instead of traffic movements that have been closed, such as using nearby intersections or turns leading to the intended destination. Moreover, the number of vehicles impacted by these closures is limited and the extra time of the trip by vehicles during peak time does not exceed ten minutes, and the variation in the trip time will be limited during off-peak times,” she said.

RTA has urged the public to cooperate with the authorities towards streamlining traffic movement to boost safety along the tramway.