Abu Dhabi and Dubai are lucky (How to make the UAE more cycle-friendly, December 14). No such luck in Al Ain. If I want to cycle, my nearest destination is Al Qudra or Yas Island. Personally, it rather defeats the purpose if one has to drive an hour or more to cycle for one hour and then drive back. Besides, it adds to the pollution.
There are three stadiums in Al Ain with Hazza bin Zayed being the newest, but not one of them offers a cycling circuit.
Sports stadiums would be perfect for Al Ain residents to cycle safely without having to redesign the city.
There is a park with a 0.5km cycle track, but you cannot take your own bike and have to hire one of their dilapidated pieces of equipment. And it is, basically, meant for children.
As your article clearly states, this initiative will only get underway with support from the authorities.
I hope it does – sooner rather than later – though I do think that one has to be realistic.
The UAE will never have an Amsterdam or a Cambridge in terms of a cycling culture. There, cycling is the culture.
In fact, in Cambridge it is quicker to get around by bike than by car.
Perhaps the best way to sell the idea here would be to point out that people with specific medical conditions can enjoy cycling without the worry of damaging anything else. I miss my bike.
Name withheld by request
Our cities will have to be completely redesigned if they are to be bicycle-friendly. Also, people need to be encouraged to cycle to work, shops and schools whenever possible.
Chris Reid, Abu Dhabi
How about a pilot trial on the Corniche? Most people do not know which lanes are bike lanes and which ones are meant for pedestrians.
Also, I think it’s too difficult to emulate Amsterdam or Copenhagen for a multitude of reasons. So it’s best to just create a system that suits the environment here.
Ghawiya Umm-Julia, Abu Dhabi
Unexpected ‘entertainment’
On Saturday night, my wife and I attended the latest and last Hobbit film, The Battle of the 5 Armies in Ras Al Khaimah.
Our “battle” throughout the film as spectators was dealing with a boy who must have been eight or nine, running all around the cinema, filming parts of the film with his mobile phone standing in front of the screen and even, as a grand finale, storming the stage and pulling the curtain.
I alerted the cinema staff to the child’s behaviour and an attendant did enter twice to ask the wild hobbit to curb his enthusiasm, but inevitably the misbehaviour resumed as soon as the attendant left the hall.
The child had his parent with him, but we noticed that his father was laughing as he took pictures of his son’s stage-stealing closing scene.
We were further exasperated by his lack of consideration for the rest of the audience.
When the film was over, I approached the gentleman and his son in the lobby and he politely said he couldn’t control his son’s behaviour. At least, both father and son apologised. This was a PG 13 film, but “PG” means “parental guidance”. Need I say more?
We also approached the cinema staff at the end of the film and they acknowledged that this was a regular problem.
Suffice it to say this wasn’t the first time, but certainly the craziest “in-house” entertainment we have had to endure in our local cinema.
I can only surmise that, as with the issue of security in shopping malls, until the staff feel confident to effectively challenge inappropriate behaviour, we shall continue to suffer the consequences.
David Jay, Ras Al Khaimah
Brilliant Blue Planet concert
I have to disagree with the negative statement in the article Spectacular Blue Planet let down by poor sound quality (December 14).
In fact, I thought the sound was of excellent quality. I watched the performance with a group of friends, all of whom thought it was a brilliant production and that it was great to see something different come to Abu Dhabi. I believe the article depicted the production in an unfair light.
Overall, the Destination Village for the Volvo Ocean Race is something that Abu Dhabi should be proud of, as it showcases the city at its best.
Lizzie Johnstone, Abu Dhabi
