Dubai police criticise road toll plans

Dubai's Director General of Traffic at Dubai Police has hit out at plans by the city's Road Transport Authority to introduce a toll system.The RTA's proposed Salik road toll is due to be introduced in July this year. It will see motorists charged Dhs4 for entering and leaving a "congestion zone" stretching from Garhoud bridge to the Mall of the Emirates on Sheikh Zayed Road. But Dubai Police's traffic chief, Brigadier Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, says that the toll system will clog traffic rather than ease it.

Speaking to UAE broadsheet Gulf News, he said that he had not even been contacted about the tolls. "The RTA officials didn't even approach the traffic department for consultation," he said. "We learnt about the toll system from the media."He called on the RTA to pause for further consultation about the project. In particular, to study the impact on traffic flows, which he predicts will see motorists taking alternative routes to avoid the charges.The city must also provide alternatives to using cars before trying to drive them off the road. "The Metro needs some time to be ready," he told Gulf News. "How can the RTA start the road toll system without offering alternatives," he added. Source