During its weekly session, the Advisory (Shura) Council took note of a memorandum by the Cabinet General Secretariat regarding its recommendations on traffic congestion in Doha city. The session was chaired by the council’s Deputy Speaker, Issa bin Rabea al-Kuwari.

Secretary-general of the council Fahad al-Khayarin presented the cabinet memorandum, according to local Arabic daily Arrayah. The National Committee for Traffic Safety will also submit a report in this regard.

The recommendations include reviewing the policy of issuing driving licences to expatriates, finding effective solutions for the distribution of roads, spreading commercial activities both within and outside the capital, setting up a number of multi-storey car parking facilities, providing adequate public transport options and taxis as alternatives for private cars, forcing large companies to use buses to ferry workers, seeking the opinion of the Qatar Society of Engineers, expanding the entry and exit points of bridges, reconsidering the geographical distribution of schools and encouraging the use of school buses, according to the daily.

The Cabinet memo referred to the opinion of the Ministry of Interior that the reasons for traffic congestion included a rise in the population, roundabouts, uniform work hours of all government departments and the concentration of ministries and other government agencies in a single area, the report adds.