DOHA: Authorities here follow democratic procedures in naming a road or street, a locality or traffic lights at an intersection, says the Public Works Authority.
Elderly people of the area are consulted before the advice of the entire population is sought. The name is then forwarded to the municipality under whose jurisdiction the locality falls.
In the final stage, the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning puts his seal of approval on the name, according to the Authority, popularly known as Ashghal.
The Authority said it is compiling a list of roads, streets, traffic lights and localities with their names all over the country.
This was disclosed recently by senior Ashghal officials while participating in a talk hosted by Al Sharq newspaper in its Ramadan tent.
The officials disclosed that the work to convert the roundabouts on the Corniche Road and those on its parallel road that began some four months ago, is expected to be completed in November this year.
Plans are afoot to expand the C Ring Road from the Toyota intersection up to Hamad General Hospital. According to the officials, Ashghal has lined up some 200 infrastructure development projects over the next seven years.
Ali Mohamed Al Nuaimi, director of signages, Abdulaziz Ali Al Sada, director of safety and traffic control, and Yusuf Abdulrahman Al Emadi, director of operations and maintenance, attended the Ramadan tent debate.
Plans are also in the pipeline to have intersections with traffic lights in several places on the February 22 Road that links the D Ring Road to Landmark via the immigration office and beyond.
Contracts have already been given to three companies, which have started work on the proposed intersections.
One company has been assigned the stretch of the road from Al Assiri traffic lights up to Sudan intersection, while the other contracting firm has been entrusted with the part of the road from Sudan traffic lights to the Immigration Department in Al Gharrafa.
The third company has been awarded the contract to build intersections (with traffic lights) between the Immigration office up to Landmark, the official said.
Al Emadi said that Ashghal has become quite strict with the contractors and companies attract fines of up to QR20,000 and QR25,000 a day for making delays in completing a work, or those that are violating the terms of contracts.
Talking of some flyovers that had developed cracks, Al Sada said there was no cause for worry as they didn’t pose any danger at all. Such cracks are caused by the diggings done on the roads on these flyovers for the asphalting work.
The officials, talking about the smaller roundabouts in residential areas, all over the country, said that they will be left untouched and will not be converted into traffic lights because they are safer than traffic lights.
About why so many accidents take place on the Shamal Road, the officials said lack of lighting is to mainly blame, and some people drive cars on the track that is meant for emergency parking. This road is just three meters long and not meant for driving, they added.
The Peninsula
