By Majorie van Leijen www.emirates247.com
Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) is a much-desired residential place to reside and do business in.
Getting in is one thing, but getting out can be a nightmare. Especially during peak traffic hours.
The residential and commercial freezone area in the heart of Dubai, is situated next to Sheikh Zayed Road and serviced by two metro stations; Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
Accessible by a foot-bridge from Dubai Marina and characterised by its promenade linking the four man-made lakes and clusters of buildings, one would expect Jumeirah Lakes Towers to be one of the most accessible areas of Dubai.
It’s the road network that troubles residents the most.
But, not everyone agrees. “It is bad!” says Trudy Brusselman (51) from the Netherlands, referring to the road network that links JLT to Sheikh Zayed Road.
“You have to imagine that a five-lane road suddenly turns into a one-lane road, and everybody needs to get onto that lane. It creates huge traffic jams!”
Previously, the five-lane road that runns parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road on the south side of the lakes ended up in a roundabout, where drivers had the chance to either take the direction of Sharjah or Abu Dhabi, but this has recently become a two-lane juncture. “The roundabout was much better,” says Trudy.
“Now drivers for both directions suddenly get confronted with the junction, and have to move quickly from one side to another, having only one lane to pick.”
Actually, Trudy is lucky, because she lives in cluster Y, on the south side of the lakes. This means that she needs to face the traffic jam only once a day, when she goes to work.
However, the problem is worse for those people living on the northern side of the lake, considering the fact that the road around the lake is a one-way road. More info
