DUBAI// Ten pedestrian bridges will be built in the next two years in an attempt to improve road safety.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced the new bridges will be built in areas where its research recorded a high rate of accidents involving pedestrians and a lot of traffic movement. The work will take place between 2015 and 2016 and will cost about Dh40 million.
“Constructing the footbridges stems from the commitment of the RTA to provide safe means for pedestrians to cross roads,” said Mattar Al Tayer, executive director and chairman of the board of the RTA.
“The new bridges will be constructed in a number of vital locations that have been identified in traffic studies focused on the intensity of people’s movement between the two sides of the road, areas with abundant shops and establishments and locations recording high run-over accidents.”
The plan is to build two bridges at Bani Yas Street. The first near the Department of Land and the second near Dubai Municipality.
Bridges will also be built at Khalid bin Al Waleed street near the Rifaa-Saadiyat intersection, Al Nahda street near Al Tawar Centre, Al Ittihad street next to the DNATA offices, Al Maraabi street, which is also known as Road 323, Al Mankhool street, Latifa bint Hamdan street next to Al Khail Mall, Al Ribat street close to Bel Remaitha Club and the Dubai-Al Ain road near the Skycourts buildings.
The new bridges will bring the number to 120 by 2016. The agency urged residents to make use of the bridges and subways being built for them. It also asked motorists to abide by speed limits and slow down at pedestrian crossing points for their own safety and the safety of other road users.
Residents welcomed the decision but also suggested more locations for crossings.
“This is a very good idea,” said Zakir Hussain, head of operations at Oman Transport, which owns several heavy vehicles.
“But, I would suggest a bridge on the old Dubai Bypass Road near Jebel Ali. There is a Sikh temple and people keep crossing to get to the temple, which is very dangerous. Mr Hussain said his company’s drivers regularly encountered pedestrians crossing the road in a risky and dangerous manner.
“Our drivers suggested this. Many people are crossing at this particular point. They are waiting near the dividers to assess how far the vehicle is before crossing. It is very tough for drivers as they are not sure what the pedestrian will do.”
Road-safety experts said bridges were costly to put up and not the only option to reduce accidents.
“It is a highly commendable initiative and it is all about having the right mindset,” said Thomas Edelmann, the founder of the Road Safety UAE website.
“Every bridge will help to save lives. Often, people are almost forced to jaywalk because there is no other option. In this climate, it is impossible to go to the next zebra crossing.”
Mr Edelmann said there were alternatives to expensive pedestrian crossings.
“If we have to cross safely, we have to use bridges, which is the wrong approach. Pedestrian bridges are expensive solutions. In certain instances, traffic lights would be beneficial and also increasing the number of pedestrian crossings with speed bumps.”
The RTA also said it was looking to roll out more signal-controlled pedestrian crossings and speed humps. The agency said fatalities among pedestrians dropped from 9.5 per 100,000 people in 2007 to 2.3 fatalities per 100,000 in 2010. This number had fallen again to 1.2 fatalities per 100,000 last year.
Several new bridges are already under way. Four covered and air-conditioned pedestrian bridges will be built at Al Safouh street, including two to serve tram users and residents on both sides of the street. Another two will link Tecom with the opposite side of the street as well as the Dubai Marina Mall.
pkannan@thenational.ae
