ABU DHABI // The scheme to give new numbers to the capital’s main roads is 75 per cent complete, the Department of Municipal Affairs says.
Thirteen of Abu Dhabi city’s main streets have new numbers as part of the department Onwani, or “My Address” scheme.
“Route numbers will be added to selected overhead street signs fixed to traffic signals and gantries at main street junctions,” said Omar Al Shaiba, a director at the department.
“This will further facilitate navigation through the city, for visitors and residents who are not familiar with street names.”
It will help businesses such as delivery vans to more quickly get to the right place, and the average response time for emergency services will decrease from 9.5 minutes to four.
The project is to be completed by end of next year throughout the emirate, and by the end of this year for the island. Under the changes, Khalifa Al Mubarak Street is now 2nd street, 34th is now 4th, 32nd is now 6th, 30th is now 8th, and so on.
Over the course of the project, Onwani will introduce more than 180,000 building addresses and 19,000 street names, with 240 district boundaries reviewed and 49,000 new street and district signs installed.
Mr Al Shaiba said the odd-numbered roads in the city will not be changed.
The department said members of the public had asked for the street name and number system to be simplified.
Dr Abdullah Al Bloushi, its executive director of land and management, said residents and visitors had found the old system difficult and that all streets would have both names and numbers to make the system easy to understand.
“If you go to United States, United Kingdom and other parts of the world, you have to use the system to find an address. In future this system is going to be very useful and people love to use them,” Dr Al Bloushi said.
The department says: “Abu Dhabi Island will have 32 main streets named after the UAE’s beloved visionary leaders and scholars to reflect local culture and heritage in the new street names.”
Abu Dhabi city and its surrounds will have unique addresses for 70,000 buildings in more than 6,000 streets.
Mr Al Shaiba said that so far, 91 per cent buildings were assigned new numbers with QR codes in Abu Dhabi city.
“This will allow anyone to logically anticipate the next street number without having prior knowledge of how the island was previously mapped,” he said.
By the third quarter of the year, the department will also launch a software application for all smartphones to locate the addresses through the QR codes on all building numbers and street sign posts.
The department and the Abu Dhabi Education Council are planning a comprehensive education drive for pupils, the Department of Transport and TransAD to increase awareness for taxi drivers and other motorists.
anwar@thenational.ae
