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Dubai: Some employees spend up to 30 mins in parking lots amid traffic jams in business hubs

Daily commuters have been facing hours-long delays on roads in areas like Business Bay, DIFC and Deira

The traffic around offices and business hubs in Dubai has been growing exponentially with many residents in the area leaving more than 30 minutes of buffer time to reach their destinations.

Daily commuters have been facing hours-long delays in several business districts, including Business Bay, DIFC and Deira.

Awais Ahmed, an engineer working at Bay Tower on Marasi Drive in Business Bay, describes the daily ordeal of leaving the office parking during rush hour. “It takes more than 30 minutes just to get out of the parking during peak hours,” he said. “The roads connecting to the parking lot are packed with vehicles inching forward one by one.”

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Last week, Khaleej Times had reported how several residential communities faced traffic due to there being only one entry and exit point. However, those working in business districts say they face similar issues, despite there being multiple entry and exit points.

Ahmed added that the traffic nightmare was far from over once he got out of the parking. “Once you are on Marasi Drive, you breathe a sigh of relief, but that’s short lived,” he said. “It takes over 25 minutes to get onto Al Khail Road or other expressways, and then another 40 minutes to finally reach my home in Al Nahda.”

Residents regularly commuting to these areas hope the new infrastructural upgrades will ease the city’s gridlock.

“Many of us who commute through these congested areas daily are hopeful that the ongoing infrastructural upgrades and proposed solutions will finally bring some much-needed relief to the city's traffic issues,” said the 35-year-old engineer.

Arfaz Iqbal, a media professional residing in DIFC, has witnessed a rise in traffic congestion in the area over the past few months, transforming his once smooth commute into a daily struggle.

“In the last couple of months, traffic around this area has gotten extremely bad. It used to start around 8.30am, but now there are more cars out as early as 5.30am. From 8am till 10.30am, every internal road is chock-a-block. The evening build-up starts around 4pm and lasts till 8pm," said Iqbal. "On some days, I have spent over one and a half hour in traffic just to cover a 2-3 kilometre distance from DIFC parking to Sheikh Zayed Road towards Abu Dhabi."

He added that the traffic becomes unbearable when there are events at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The situation has often forced him to opt for the metro instead of driving, and even weekends are now crowded due to the popularity of restaurants in the area.

"For every outing, I need to leave a buffer time of about 20 minutes because of the traffic now."

Commuters stuck in traffic for hours

Mohammed AbuSaeed, a Jordanian resident of Sharjah, finds himself stuck in traffic for almost two and a half to three hours daily. He works at a gifting company located on Al Amal Street in Business Bay. “It takes nearly 40 minutes just to access Sheikh Zayed Road or Al Khail Road from my office, which takes only five minutes without traffic,” said AbuSaeed.

Although AbuSaeed has flexible working hours in the morning, allowing him to avoid traffic at that time, the evening rush is unavoidable. “There are hundreds of offices in various towers on the street, and everyone exits at once in the evening. That’s the main reason for the gridlock,” he said.

“I often request flexibility from my boss to work from the office only three days a week, but that remains a distant dream. Hopefully, authorities will address this issue and implement strategies to ease the congestion soon,” added said, as he hopes the new infrastructure projects on Al Khail Road will make a difference to the traffic flow.

Gridlock in narrow streets

The traffic nightmare is not limited to Business Bay or DIFC. Aaban Alizai, an automobile spare parts dealer who resides in Abu Hail, mentioned a similar situation of his daily commute to Baniyas Street in Deira. “The situation after 9am in Deira is worse,” he said.

“Baniyas Street, Deira Creek, Al Ras, Naif, and other areas are blocked. It takes me 30 minutes just to get through the market area,” said Alizai.

Alizai also said that sometimes he parks his car near the Creek and walks the remaining two kilometres to his workplace to avoid the traffic. “Summer is nearly over now, so I can do this more often to avoid traffic,” he added.

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