Right-turn lanes are too wide, experts say

Traffic experts invited to help solve Abu Dhabi's road woes discuss suggestions that include making right-turning lanes narrower to making pavements more even.

ABU DHABI // Traffic experts invited to help solve the capital's road woes discussed suggestions yesterday including making right-turning lanes narrower to making pavements more even. The conference called Making Abu Dhabi Roads Safer featured talks on problems affecting both drivers and pedestrians. Sami al Musawi, a traffic planning engineer at Abu Dhabi Municipality, related how his team "walked the streets, spotting problems". He said right-turning lanes were too wide, allowing two cars to turn simultaneously.

"If two cars take the turn at the same time, it is likely there will be a collision. Therefore, the space should be no more than five metres," said Mr al Musawi. His team also found uneven pavements across the city, which put pedestrians at risk. "This could be dangerous for pedestrians; especially disabled people or children," he said. "People might not notice the dents and trip and fall onto the road."

Some experts suggested developing "intelligent transport systems", which would allow a communications centre to relay messages about traffic conditions, for instance, on electronic boards above roads. @Email:[e-mail]