Sheikh Zayed Road is getting a new Salik gate that will begin operation in October. Reem Mohammed / The National
Sheikh Zayed Road is getting a new Salik gate that will begin operation in October. Reem Mohammed / The National
Sheikh Zayed Road is getting a new Salik gate that will begin operation in October. Reem Mohammed / The National
Sheikh Zayed Road is getting a new Salik gate that will begin operation in October. Reem Mohammed / The National

Dubai to install new Salik road toll gate on Sheikh Zayed Road


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A new Salik gate is being installed on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road, the Roads and Transport Authority confirmed on Wednesday, and it will begin operating on October 24.

Located on the Sheikh Zayed Road near Jebel Ali and before the intersection of Yalayis, the new gate will start operating after the completion of two major road projects – the seventh interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road and the Al Yalayis Road improvements, both due to open on September 15.

The seventh toll gate will generate hundreds of thousands in annual revenues as drivers are charged Dh4 each time they pass through.

“The new toll gate will reduce traffic flow to Sheikh Zayed Road by 25 per cent and encourage residents to use public transportation,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors at the Roads and Transport Authority.

The transport authority aims to redistribute traffic movement and divert some of the traffic flow to alternative routes, including the Emirates Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Road and Al Khail Road.

Not everyone was happy about the announcement. Yousef Salim, 42, from Syria, lives in Ajman but works in Dubai. He said: “Working in the sales industry requires you to visit different emirates and I am usually stuck in traffic. Efforts have been made to reduce traffic, but the roads are usually very busy.

"However, the new Salik gate will be a financial burden — I do my best to avoid routes where Salik gates are installed."

On the other hand, some people were delighted by the plans and their potential to ease traffic. Nour Mohammed, a 30-year-old housewife, said: “So many of my friends live in Jebel Ali and I am happy to hear the roads will be less congested."

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Al Yalayes Road is being constructed over six kilometres extending from the seventh interchange of Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road at Al Houdh Interchange. The Al Asayel Road is being constructed over five kilometres, linking with JAFZA, Jumeirah Islands and Emirates Hills.

Al Asayel Street will provide additional capacity to parallel roads and manage to take up to 12,000 vehicles per an hour in both directions. It will also increase the capacity of Al Yalayes Road to 20,000 vehicles per an hour in both directions, and cut drivers’ journey time between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road to about four minutes.

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

TICKETS

For tickets for the two-day Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) event, entitled Dubai Invasion 2019, on September 27 and 28 go to www.meraticket.com.