Taking Salik road, leaving early: How UAE residents tackled back-to-school traffic

A number of people spent around 45 minutes more on roads as schools and colleges reopened Monday

Waheed Abbas

Published: Tue 27 Aug 2024, 6:00 AM

Last updated: Tue 27 Aug 2024, 10:24 PM

Many UAE residents spent up to 45 minutes in traffic jams on Monday as schools and colleges reopened for the new academic year after the summer break.

Anticipating heavy traffic, most of the motorists had left home at least half an hour early on the day to ensure that they reached their offices or desired destinations in time.

Parents who went to drop their children to school on day one on the instructions of schools especially bore the brunt.

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However, contrary to their regular commute, many motorists opted to take Salik routes to reach their locations in time.

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“It took me an additional 45 minutes to reach the office on Monday as there was heavy traffic in Oud Metha since many parents had parked their cars by the side of the roads to drop their kids to school. I saw parents dropping their kids in the school and walking back to their vehicles parked on the roadside,” said Karen Lobo, a long-time UAE resident.

Lobo added that some of her colleagues also made it late in the day due to bad traffic.

'Non-working parents took other non-Salik routes'

Sharrah Khilawala, mother of two kids, too, left 40 minutes early to drop her daughter to school.

“Since I went to drop my daughter from Sharjah to Dubai, I factored in an extra 40 minutes because it was my first day in school. Plus, pretty much everyone is back from their holidays, leading to increased traffic on the roads,” she told Khaleej Times.

“Many working parents took the Salik route to reach their locations in time, while non-working parents opted for other non-Salik routes. I took Salik because it saved time for me,” she added.

Sharjah resident Abu Ahmed, who went to drop his son to school in Ajman, experienced slightly heavier traffic.

“There was traffic at the Al Khan signal and then again on Al Wahda Street, going towards Ajman. Then there was heavy traffic again around school, so we drove through streets to drop my son in Ajman. Roads leading towards schools were quite busy in early morning on the first day,” he added.

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