Parents raised concerns with authorities about access to the popular play area on Bank Street in the Al Guhwair neighbourhood, with children having to cross three roads to get to and from the park, and requested it be relocated to a safer area away from traffic. All photos by Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
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Parents raised concerns with authorities about access to the popular play area on Bank Street in the Al Guhwair neighbourhood, with children having to cross three roads to get to and from the park, and requested it be relocated to a safer area away from traffic. -
“This is a very busy area. It is a commercial area connected to a main road and two other internal roads,” said Alya Abdullah who lives in the neighbourhood. “Almost on all sides the children would be faced with a road and cars and that is not a safe place for the children to play from. -
Muntasir Kadar said he was always afraid a child could be involved in an accident as so many youngsters played in the area every evening without the supervision of parents. “You would see them crossing the roads and would get scared. What if some car fails to stop?” said the bank employee. -
Marwan Al Serkal, CEO of Shurooq, the investment arm of Sharjah government, said the playground was originally part of a former Sharjah Biennial cultural event and was designed to give families visiting the emirate, as well as residents, a place to relax. -
Hanan Jassim, director of the events and parks section at the municipality, said one of the conditions for building children’s play areas is that they must be away from roads and comply with all standards of safety. -
“There are always small accidents occurring in cases of children playing, but once the safety procedures are in place these minor accidents would not risk the children’s lives,” Hanan Jassim, director of the events and parks section at the municipality -
Children had to cross three roads to get to and from the park. -
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