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[lollaerd]

New rules and regulations on the way after lax enforcement during Ramadan. Be alert to spot checks.

[wilberforce]

Residents seek end to parking problems

A contractor has boarded up a part of the street near an under-construction site Residents of several densely-populated areas of Doha are increasingly exasperated by the encroachment of public spaces by people for parking their vehicles.They say people have now started erecting permanent barriers in an effort to mark what they think are their territory.�Earlier it used to be a simple sign using spray paint by a particular villa or a building urging others not to park in front of or around the property.

Then came the soft barriers - plastic cones, empty cans filled with concrete and others. Now we see steel rods and pipes and other materials which can�t easily be removed,� said a 20-year-long resident of Doha Jadeed. The construction of new buildings has only added to the problem, they say.�The new residential towers don�t have enough parking facility. They usually have one-slot per unit but most families in Doha now have more than one vehicle,� said another resident of Muntaza, who, over the past one year, saw the demolition of six neighbouring villas which are now turned into three multi-storey buildings with close to 50 apartments.

Contractors too are encroaching on what are certainly public roads, the residents say.�It�s not as if you can walk into a neighbourhood construction site and ask the supervisor why they have erected safety walls halfway into your street,� said a resident of Bin Mahmoud.
Adding to the crisis is people upgrading to SUVs, which take up more space for parking.�The super-sized cars have effectively reduced the streets to narrow lanes which can�t handle even one-way traffic,� the Doha Jadeed resident said.

�Imagine a working couple both driving SUVs and living in a standard QR6,000 apartment with one parking and you get the idea,� he added.
To add to the misery is the never-ending drainage work, taking up whole streets in such populated areas as Doha Jadeed, Fereej Abdulaziz, Mansoura, Najma, Ummghwailina, Muntazah and Bin Omran.
�There used to be a road outside our building. But for the past eight months it�s blocked, thanks to a contractor, who has been carrying out work there,� a family in Najma said. Most residents agreed that the government should systematically assess the state of parking problems. As of now Qatar does not have a specific authority to look into parking. A Traffic Congestion Committee does exist but it says addressing the parking issues is out of its purview.

[wilberforce]

Cracking, rutting roads add to motorists� misery

Cracks on the access roads on Doha Expressway
Questions are mounting over the quality of newly-built roads across Doha, as increasing number of motorists say lanes are caving in or rutting and pavements cracking open. �These are newly laid out roads and the fact that they are ever deteriorating tells you so much about the quality control mechanism in place,� a motorist, a 20-year resident of Doha said.
As an example, he pointed out to the recently expanded road under the Jaidah flyover when coming from The Centre roundabout.
The busy junction leading to the Corniche and the densely-populated Musheireb area in one direction and to Ramada junction and the Salwa highway on the other was dug up towards the end of September, 2009 for expansion work. New lanes were added as part of expansion.
�Ironically, it�s the newly-added third lane which has rutted,� the annoyed motorist added.
Rutting is the depression into a road or path by the travel of wheels. Often it is the result of flowing water also. Ruts can be removed by grading a road surface.
Another resident, from Abu Hamour, has pointed to the similar problem near the roundabout which brings in traffic from Al Mamoura towards the area.


�This whole road took years to be completed and was partly opened in the last couple of years. In fact road works are still happening on some stretches especially close to the Abu Hamour petrol station. However the condition of third lane here has deteriorated already,� she said.
Motorists coming down from the Abu Hamour petrol station and heading towards the Qatar Decoration roundabout are being affected by this one.
Here in the right-most lane, the road has rutted so bad that the asphalt layer has started shifting towards the pavement and in some patches has overtaken it. Just a block down, on the Doha Expressway near the Khalifa Al Attiya interchange (formerly Al-Mamoura/D-Ring Road intersection), whole stretch of pavements have started cracking.
�The road between the intersection and Midmac intersection was so bad, it started developing cracks right after its opening,� a regular user of the road said. �You could see whole stretched refilled and patched again. However, cracks are now appearing elsewhere. It makes you want to question the quality of materials being used. Some of the much older roads in Doha are still intact,� he said.

[wilberforce]

Traffic Dept �to accept� appeal over penalties The Traffic department has launched a crackdown to bring more discipline and safety to roads
Motorists who believe that they have been �unfairly fined� may challenge their penalties by lodging a complaint with the Traffic Department offices at Khalifa Town or Al Ma�moura from now on, according to Traffic Department director Brig-Gen Mohamed Saad al-Kharji. Al-Kharji dismissed a �publicly-circulated allegation� that his department was keen on charging traffic fines to �make money�, saying that the strict enforcement of the traffic rules was to save lives and deter reckless driving on roads throughout Qatar.
�There is no service department which can do a 100% perfect job. And when there is a mistake, it should be dealt with,� al-Kharji told Qatar Radio�s popular programme Watani Al Habib.
�We have got instructions from the Minister of State for Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani to set up an office to receive complaints from drivers who feel they have been mistakenly fined,� he said.
�Our mission is not to fill the pages of complaint books but to deter reckless drivers and make our roads safer,� he maintained.
The official revealed that his department had launched a crackdown to bring more discipline and safety to roads, saying that such campaigns were no longer a temporary measure but a permanent one.
�I think we have given road users enough time to be aware about the new traffic rules that came into effect in 2007. It is now time to make law enforcement a top priority through campaigns,� he added.
He dismissed allegations that policemen were rewarded for booking more violators as �untrue�, saying lightly: �Those policemen only get sunburn in return.�
He said the department would not tolerate parking violations, particularly when vehicles were found parked in such a way that they blocked the traffic flow.
However, the official added that policemen had been instructed not to issue fines for those cars parking illegally in areas that had several service outlets, provided that the traffic flow was not affected by them.
He warned against using the parking lots designated for persons with special needs, saying that his department would never accept any financial settlement for this violation, and offenders would be referred to the public prosecution.
About speed limits, the official said those who drove at 70kmph on a 60kmph-limit road would not be penalised. �Only when a motorist breaches the limit and speeds beyond an acceptable level, the radars will record the violation.�
He said that a committee under the Traffic Department was reviewing the speed limits on roads throughout the country.

[paperback]

We have route 66 stateside.

Now Q has route 77!!

Way to go!

Will look more impressive to the FIFA visitors.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=404079&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

[veiledsentiments]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Where pray tell does one get one's kicks if not on Route 66???

NCTBA

[johnslat]

Dear NCTBA and veiledsentiments.

Much of the old Route 66 (Chicago to LA) runs through New Mexico. We used to have a Route 666 here, too:

"The End of 666

On January 21, 2003, Governor Bill Richardson delivered his first State-of-the-State Address to the New Mexico Legislature. The new Governor discussed many topics of importance to his State, including the fate of U.S. 666:

We must coordinate the business interests of Native Americans and the state. After years of neglect in Santa Fe, I am proud to announce my wholehearted support for the renovation of Highway 666 (a name we are working to change) from Gallup to Shiprock, on the Navajo Nation, and I have directed the secretary of transportation to cooperate fully with the Navajo Nation in this effort.
It was the death knell for "666."

The New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department joined with Colorado and Utah transportation officials in submitting a recommendation to eliminate the last remaining segments of U.S. 666 and establish a new route, U.S. 393, in its place. After summarizing the history of the route, New Mexico's application explained the reason for the change:

There has been such an outcry from people living on or near US 66 in New Mexico and from the traveling public who avoid traveling on US 666, that House Joint Memorial 60 and Senate Joint Memorial 49 were passed by the 2003 Legislature of the State of New Mexico, to request assignment of a new designation for US 666 as quickly as possible.
The identical Joint Memorial Resolutions described U.S. 666 as "the site of many accidents," noting that "although the rate of accidents has decreased due to road improvements, it is still a dangerous stretch of highway." Then the resolutions got to the point:

WHEREAS, people living near the road already live under the cloud of opprobrium created by having a road that many believe is cursed running near their homes and through their homeland; and
WHEREAS, the number "666" carries the stigma of being the mark of the beast, the mark of the devil, which was described in the book of revelations in the Bible; and
HEREAS, there are people who refuse to travel the road, not because of the issue of safety, but because of the fear that the devil controls events along United States route 666; and
WHEREAS, the economy in the area is greatly depressed when compared with many parts of the United States, and the infamy brought by the inopportune naming of the road will only make development in the area more difficult."


http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us666.cfm

Can you believe that?

Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

I have exited the Interstate to experience a bit of what is left of Route 66 in New Mexico... for instance, an old narrow bridge... which now sits just across I-40 from a flashy new casino. ... not the same kicks...

VS

[lollaerd]

The police were helpless last night. Roads blocked for hours and hours. Kids hanging out of cars, sitting on the roof or their standing with their heads out of the sun roof. Camels in trucks. Hooting, howling, screaming, yelling, cheering, dancing in the streets. I really have never ever seen anything like it. The police seemed to be flabbergasted and understaffed. Nobody was stopped for curb driving, jumping over the road dividers or dancing on the streets.

[paperback]

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=407368&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56

[paperback]

About time:

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=407328&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

[paperback]

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=394688&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

[paperback]

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=409664&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

[paperback]

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=410397&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16