Tens of thousands of new signs are being created with quick response codes to make it easier to identify locations.
As the “Onwani” unified addressing system in Abu Dhabi approaches completion, all the address entrances of buildings in both rural and urban areas are now provided in Arab and English and also feature QR codes to help to make things even more clear.
In fact, 99 percent of the signs with these quick response codes have already been mounted throughout the capital.
Upon completion of the project, there will have been 17,000 new street name signs, 6,600 street names and 66,000 unique building numbers that will have new bilingual signage that includes the QR codes. This will all have been completed within the jurisdictions of the Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM). The ADM recently held a press conference, at which its officials explained that times have changed and that they require a much more modern approach to informing the people who are navigating the city. In this way, it has become vital to implement an entirely new system of addressing.
The names are meant to be easier to use and the QR codes should be especially handy in emergencies.
The quick response codes are designed to inform people, but in emergency situations, it can be challenging to know which entrance of a building to use when there are several different possibilities and when there are different options for residential and commercial sections.
The QRcodes also make it possible for visitors to the city who speak neither Arabic nor English to be able to use their smartphones to scan and find the location they need in a language they understand. This can be done quickly and easily through the use of the Onwani mobile app.
According to Dr. Abdullah Ghareeb, the Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) executive director for property management, property regulations and registration, the new system of signage and QR codes will be quite the time saver for people as they travel throughout the city. He explained that “In the areas where all signs are installed, visitors and residents of these areas will simply have to provide the street name and building number in order for anyone to find their address.”
