UAE | Traffic and Transport

Pedestrian network planned in Dubai

Airconditioned walkways will link major properties and metro stations in Dubai.

  • By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:11 November 11, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Pedestrians use the exit of an airconditioned pedestrian crossing across the Abu Baker Al Siddiqi Road in Deira.
  • Image Credit: Javed Nawab/Gulf News
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Dubai: A short fitness walk through a network of air-conditioned crossings and subways will not only keep diseases at bay but also enable public move around in hot weather depending less on vehicles.

The Dubai Road and Transport Authority will be linking up major buildings through air-conditioned walkways in some areas.

These buildings will also be linked using covered walkways with main roads as well as Dubai Metro stations to increase pedestrian mobility.

"The strategy will minimise the reliance on vehicles for short trips, and accordingly cut short road congestion as well as pollution in the emirate.

"Walking is one of the safe modes of mobility, which has good health benefits. It is also an economical mode of mobility that saves time compared to vehicles, particularly in congested places and during peak times," said Abdul Mohsen Ebrahim Younes, Chief Executive Officer of the RTA's Strategy and Corporate Support Services.

The new arrangement will also bring down the nuisance of jaywalkers whose numbers are on the rise in the Emirate.

Statistics provided by Dubai police in August this year shows some 1,022 jaywalkers have been fined in Dubai from January until the end of July.

Crossings: Many near completion

Currently, pedestrian crossings are under construction at Abu Hail Road, Beirut Road, Umm Suqeim Road, Airport Road, Casablanca Road and Abu Baker Al Siddiqi Road.

More crossings will be built on Emirates Road, Shaikh Zayed Road, Damascus Road, Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road, Salahuddin Road, Baniyas Road, Al Rashid Road, Zabeel Road, Al Wasl Road, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Road and Al Rabbat Road.

According to the RTA, the Emirate of Dubai showed a 15 per cent drop in fatalities from traffic accidents to 196 cases during the first nine months of 2008 from 231 cases reported during the same period in 2007.

Fatal run-over accidents dropped to 73 cases from 97 during the same period last year.

Why is the culture of walking not popular in the UAE? Would the new facilities encourage you to walk? Will it also increase the influx of commuters on the metro once it is operational? Fill in the form bellow to send your comments.


Your comments


If planned properly, this initiative will be a great improvement. The critical aspects are to ensure it is carried out in areas where people will want to visit multiple buildings in the same area, also to ensure it is fully integrated with nearby metro stations. Hong Kong is a very good example of a busy city that has used a network of high level walkways to allow pedestrians to move about safely and avoid disrupting traffic flow.
Rodger
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 11:28

It will give some kind of relief to the pedestrians and it is also a good way of minimising the congestion of vehicles on the road. The authorities should build these air-conditioned pedestrian crossings all over Dubai.
Iftikhar Ahmad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 11:22

The top most reason why the "walk" culture is dead in UAE is without any doubt the weather! It is nice and cool for hardly three months when people can enjoy walking around. The second reason could be the attitude of the people living in the country. Driving a car is religiously necessary to be able to go somewhere. Easy car loans make it quite attractive to get your hands on that brand new model in the next car showroom. I gave up my car and driving two years ago. It seemed a bit difficult in the beginning to get used to walking around but now I am very much comfortable, despite the weather conditions. The authorities should also launch campaigns to encourage people to walk instead of spending their lives in cars.
Sheharyaar Saahil
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 10:27

The walking culture is not popular in the UAE due to easy accessibility to cars, reasonable fuel prices and availability of taxis. Walking is an extremely healthy option and can be practiced during winter. Cycling should also be encouraged in the UAE with bicycle tracks along all roads. This will help a lot in reducing traffic.
Madhava Krishna
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 09:41

Why is the culture of walking not popular in the UAE? Well once, I decided to take a walk but ended up suffering from a heatstroke. However, I think the initiative is great and I feel optimistic about it.
Jeremiah
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 09:13

It is impossible to walk in this hot and humid city. Unfortunately there aren?t many places left for walking. In the Abu Hail area, there are no walkways left. Most of the area is under construction. There are no pedestrian walkways left. Everywhere you go you see red and white barricades.
Faisal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 08:49

The harsh summer is not suitable for walking. Winter weather can be nice and I do walk home from the office during winter.
K.W.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 08:49

The culture of walking is not popular in the UAE because of many reasons including weather and unsafe roads. This new initiative would definitely encourage people to walk more.
Mohammad Nawaz
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 07:29

This is a great initiative. It would allow people to walk even during the hot summer. It will also help people exercise while running errands.
C.K.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 07:29

This facility is a good idea but should not be limited to Dubai only. People in Sharjah also face the same difficulties. I hope the authorities put this initiative into effect in other emirates.
Vinod
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 11, 2008, 06:55

The extremely hot temperature in UAE during the summer months as well as its high humidity discourages people from walking. With the new facilities of air-conditioned overpasses and walkways, I feel people will be encouraged to walk. Bottom line, walking will do more good than harm when it comes to money, health and the environment. What else could we ask for?
Tammy Fernandez
Toronto,Canada
Posted: November 11, 2008, 03:53

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