Friday, October 03, 2008

What needs testing?

I simply don't understand the way the people at the RTA think.

Just reading again the story from The National I posted about yesterday concerning the new street addressing system, the way they go about things baffles me completely.

Here's part of what they said:

The signs from main roads like Sheikh Zayed Road are being changed...It’s a test phase being carried out between interchanges two and four...Whenever you introduce a new scheme like this in a test phase, there’s always going to be some confusion...Dubai’s new addressing system – which is undergoing a pilot testing in Jumeirah 3 – will replace the system of numbers for minor roads with unique street names.

It's a perfectly normal addressing system, used around the world for, what, a hundred years or more?

You give streets names and you give the buildings sequential numbers. What needs testing?

If, unbelievably to me, you don't understand how it works you can check very simply by asking the appropriate authority in another city which uses the system.

You don't need to test it.

But the RTA do.

Astonishing.

8 comments:

Keef said...

They're just crazy, that's all. Jobsworths trying to justify their fat salaries, doing stupid stuff like 'testing' so it looks like they're actually working.

I remember being slightly amazed at how easy it was to find places in Madrid: here's the street name, and this is the number. Usually the address also includes the floor and flat number. So you use a thing called a MAP to find the street, and when you get there you look at the buildings and find the one that has the number you want on it.

But I do hope the RTA will realise one crucially important thing: street names should be short. We don't want to see things like 'His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalifa bin Saeed Al Djibouti Road', do we?

Seabee said...

My money's on us getting more than a few of those Keefie. And plenty with the same name.

dubaibilly said...

These things are confusing though. My turn off used to go to Nad Al Sheba, now it goes to some road that I have never heard of before. Now, as it happens, I recognise my turn off even though they did try to confuse me so I haven't got lost yet - but I much prefer the system of area names, at least you have a chance if you know the area that you want to go to!

Seabee said...

Billy yes, they avoid the obvious correct signage that's been proven around the world and come up with a farce. It's so bloody obvious what should be done, yet they get it wrong.

I've said it many times - heads must roll.

Anonymous said...

Mirdiff rarely existed according to the RTA sign boards even before the changes were made, but now even less so... Mirdiff?? Where's Mirdiff??

Oh you mean near the Algeria Street exit on your way down Al Khawaneej Rd??

Anonymous said...

The Mirdif issue is so true. All signs lead to Warqaa even though its sparsely populated.

i*maginate said...

I was wondering whether a label on your blog reading "whatever" might be relevant to most of your posts but I see that already 55 of them are labelled with "wtf" - lol

i*maginate said...

Oh - just noticed another interesting statistical correlation: "RTA", "driving" and "construction" are labels which are numbered on a par with "wtf" hehehe