Dubai: Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has opened a new 16km-long-cycling track alongside the Jumeirah Beach.
It connects with the existing cycling track at Jumeirah Street near Dubai Water Canal, with the track at King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Street near Dubai Internet City. It also connects with the current cycling network that extends 520km from Etihad Museum to Dubai Marina and passes through several Dubai localities leading up to Al Qudra area.
The RTA press release on Thursday says that undertaking this project translates the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, to improve city transport mode, make people happier and adopt the sustainable transport means. The project echoes the instructions of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council, to transform Dubai into a bicycle-friendly city. Overall, the project contributes to realising Dubai Urban Plan 2040 to make Dubai the best city for living in the world.
Quality addition
“The cycling track at Jumeirah Beach is a quality addition to the projects portfolio undertaken by the Dubai Government to encourage sports and recreational activities, which will raise the standard of living in the emirate. It helps the accessibility between development projects and attractions, especially medium journeys as well as first and last-mile journeys,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority.
Four-metre-wide
“The new 4-metre-wide cycling track stretches 16km alongside Jumeirah Beach in parallel to the existing jogging and walking tracks that extend from Dubai Water Canal up to Umm Suqeim Park. The second sector of the track runs alongside Jumeirah Street and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Street up to Dubai Internet City.
The track serves several hotspots alongside Jumeirah Beach such as Sunset Mall, Open Beach, Dubai Sailing Club, Kite Beach, Umm Suqeim Park and Burj Al Arab. The public can use the track in practising cycling alongside the beach which have a variety of service facilities. They can also benefit from the shared bike services available at Sunset Mall, Al Manara Mosque and Umm Suqeim Park.
Master plan
“The cycling track at Jumeirah Beach is part of a master plan for constructing cycling tracks to link all key areas of the emirate. The Master Plan for Cycling Tracks 2026 aims at constructing additional cycling tracks extending 276km, which will bring the total length of cycling tracks in the emirate to 739km. The plan aims to link the tracks at the coastal areas, such as Jumeirah, Al Sufouh and Al Marina with the external tracks at Al Qudra, and Saih Al Salam via Al Barsha, Dubai Hills and Nad Al Sheba,” added Al Tayer.
Specifications of Tracks
Some 520km of dedicated cycling tracks have been constructed so far where as the RTA has plans to build a total of 739km long cycling tracks by 2026 to link vital areas in Dubai with various public transit means.
Cycling Speed
RTA has set a speed limit of 30km/h at cycling tracks dedicated to amateurs, and a speed limit of 20km/h at dedicated or shared tracks with pedestrians within urban areas. However, no specific speed limits are set for cycling tracks for training purposes. The overall objective of introducing speed limits for cycling tracks is to ensure the safety of both pedestrians and cyclists.
