Traffic congestion and Parking problems
There are traffic congestion and parking problems all around the world, but I will talk about the city where I live. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It is on an island located less than 250 meters from the mainland and is joined to the mainland by the Maqta Bridge, Mussafah Bridge, and the new bridge, Shaikh Zayed Bridge.
There are traffic and parking problems in Abu Dhabi, especially in the city center, and in the morning when people go to work, schools, colleges, etc. The high ways going in and out of Abu Dhabi get busy and all drivers drive bumper to bumper, and that causes accidents and traffic congestion. People get delays to arrival at their destinations. The new bridge opened recently solved 5% of the problem. People use that bridge to enter Abu Dhabi by the Qarm Street; before there were traffic signal lights, but now there are three new tunnels. When vehicles are fully stopped for periods of time, this is known as a traffic jam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_congestion ). Some people don’t want to be late to their destinations, so they leave their houses early. These traffic problems may result in lost business or other personal losses; blocked traffic may cause a delay of emergency vehicles traveling to their destinations where they are urgently needed. Some people spillover with their vehicles and drive into the side of the street to avoid the traffic. The other problem is the parking problem, people who live in buildings cannot park their cars easily or they park far away from their buildings.
Abu Dhabi is home to important financial institutions; it’s one of the world's largest producers of oil, and Abu Dhabi has actively attempted to diversify its economy in recent years through investments in financial services and tourism. Abu Dhabi is the second most expensive city for expatriate employees in the region and 50th most expensive city in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Dhabi). The buildings in Abu Dhabi are too diverse to be one style, especially as they have been built over a long period of time. There is high employment density in the central area, high residential densities in central downtown and lower densities in the suburbs; as we know Abu Dhabi has many suburbs on the mainland for example: Khalifa City A,B and C , Al Bahia city, Al Shahama , Al Rahba , etc. The city was planned in the 1970s for an estimated maximum population of 600,000. Today, the city’s population is getting larger than the original estimated maximum population when it was designed. This causes traffic congestion and a shortage of car parking spaces.
There are many solutions for these problems. First the government have to enlarge the roads by making new lanes. They have to reduce junctions. They can separate lanes for specific user groups for example bus lanes, emergency lanes. They can add tunnels in the city and reduce signal lights. They can create new routes, but that will take a long time because they have to build a bridge or a tunnel connecting the island and the mainland. They can make park and ride facilities allowing parking at a distance and allowing continuation by public transport ride sharing. Park and ride car parks are commonly found at metro stations. In Dubai there is a metro; but in Abu Dhabi it is hard to make a metro or a subway train, because it’s an island. If they don't find a solution with the roads, they can arrange employment and school opening times to avoid rush hour traffic.
There are many solutions for these problems. First the government have to enlarge the roads by making new lanes. They have to reduce junctions. They can separate lanes for specific user groups for example bus lanes, emergency lanes. They can add tunnels in the city and reduce signal lights. They can create new routes, but that will take a long time because they have to build a bridge or a tunnel connecting the island and the mainland. They can make park and ride facilities allowing parking at a distance and allowing continuation by public transport ride sharing. Park and ride car parks are commonly found at metro stations. In Dubai there is a metro; but in Abu Dhabi it is hard to make a metro or a subway train, because it’s an island. If they don't find a solution with the roads, they can arrange employment and school opening times to avoid rush hour traffic.
Parking solutions: they should make everywhere in the city paid parking, so people will park and when their time will finish they have to move the car. For the people who live in buildings, the best solution for the new building owners and designers is to do a 2 floor basement parking; that will help them. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_space)
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