Doha

The February 22 Road, which is a section of the Shamal Expressway, continues to witness severe traffic congestion despite the recent decision to reduce the speed limit from 100 kmph to 80 kmph, according to local Arabic daily Arrayah.
Traffic Department has closed the entries to the road from the Passport roundabout to Al Soudan intersection to ease the congestion. But this arrangement has resulted in congestion on the side lanes and motorists are complaining that it takes double the time to negotiate the road, Arrayah said.
A number of nationals told the paper that the recent decision had not realised its objective of reducing traffic congestion on the road but has led to slowing the traffic flow not only on the main road but also on the side streets after the traffic patrols closed the entries to the main road.
Citizens are calling for reconsidering the decision to reduce the speed limit and look for viable solutions to overcome the situation and reduce traffic accidents. They pointed out that the situation could be worse when the schools reopened after the spring vacation.
Many stated that the Traffic Department has to restore the previous speed limits and increase the number of radars. They also remarked that the lowering of the speed limit was leading to weariness among motorists due to the delay in reaching their destination.
Qatari national Abdulaziz Ahmed said that the problem was not about speed but the poor design of the road as well as the absence of emergency lanes. Another national stated that three lanes were insufficient considering the heavy traffic flow on the road and called for widening it with more lanes on both sides.

Related Story