Back to school in UAE: Smooth traffic on day 1, some delays reported

Dubai - Roads surrounding the school witnessed light congestions

As thousands of pupils returned to campus on Sunday, reports of the traffic situation in the Emirates was smooth-flowing, according to traffic watchdogs and live traffic reports on Google Maps.

While the Sharjah – Dubai E11 Al Ittihad road and the Mohammed bin Zayed E311 highways witnessed the usual morning congestion, inner school district roads had smooth flowing traffic.

Slow-moving traffic on E311 stretched all the way from the Sharjah Industrial area up to Rashidiya in Dubai.

Roads surrounding the school district in Dubai’s Al Gharoud area also witnessed light congestions.

According to Dubai Police, an accident occurred on the Water Canal bridge at Sheikh Zayed Road in the direction of the World Trade Centre at 10am, resulting in traffic delays. Commuters were advised to exercise extra caution.

Slow-moving traffic also caused delays for commuters in Sharjah's Al Gharb district. Intersections in the industrial areas and Al Qusais were also chock-a-block from 7am to 10am.

Javed Khamisani, operator of the community-based Twitter handle @trafficdxb, said, “Traffic on Sunday was not as intense as per usual standards. It was smooth flowing all over, with the exception of a few key school districts. Moreover, it was a mixed bag in terms of parents using school buses and dropping their kids to school.”

He added, “As usual, the E311 Sharjah – Dubai highway witnessed heavy traffic. The roads leading to Academic City were also congested.”

Khamisani noted that school districts in Barsha South, Garhoud, and Hessa Street were also crowded this morning.

"I think the traffic situation will return to pre-pandemic levels after October 3 once all students return to campus. Once Expo 2020 begins, I suppose the traffic situation would be a little bit more intense, especially in the second half of the day,” he said.

Khamisani said dedicated school bus lines could be used, especially in old Dubai districts such as Bur Dubai and Karama to ease congestion. “However, in the dedicated school districts, the roads leading to schools are pretty narrow. Using dedicated lanes would mean more congestion.”