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Major infrastructure plans unveiled for Dubai

by Sarah Blackman on Apr 20, 2009

2 Comments

The number of daily trips made on Dubai's roads will increase from 12 million to 22 million by 2020. (Getty Images)

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced a raft of major infrastructure works to reduce road traffic and improve safety across the city.

Ninety-five new interchanges, nine ring roads, 70 new pedestrian crossings and a master plan for 580km of cycle tracks are set to be completed by 2020, according to RTA Strategy and Corporate Governance Sector CEO Abdul Mohsin Ibrahim Younus.

The plans come in line with new figures that show the number of daily trips made on Dubai's roads will increase from 12 million to 22 million by 2020, due to the increasing population.

Furthermore, the developed area of the emirate is set to increase four times from its current size of 500km2, meaning more cars on the roads and ultimately more traffic congestion.

“There are too many road traffic deaths and too many cars on the roads,” said Younus. “We want to reduce this by encourage more people to use public transport.”

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Saw two blokes cycling down SZR the other day. No, really. They seemed confident and unphased by the land cruisers firin

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Younus also said that in addition to infrastructure advancements, the number of buses will increase from 1350 to 1900 by the end of this year.

“As soon as a person gets off the metro there will be a bus or other mode of transport waiting to get them to their next destination,” he said.

Public transport currently accounts for just 6% of all daily trips taken in Dubai.

The Al Sofouh Tram system, which is currently under construction, will also serve as a link to and from the metro. It will run 14km from the Dubai Marina to the Burj Al Arab carrying 5200 passengers in each direction per hour and is estimated to take two years to complete. French specialist Systra is the consultant for this project.

The metro’s Red Line is set to be completed by September 2009 and the Green Line by March 2010, while plans for the Purple and Blue Lines are still being discussed.

Readers' Comments

Marlow McGuinness (Apr 21, 2009) United Arab Emirates

two wheels bad
Saw two blokes cycling down SZR the other day. No, really. They seemed confident and unphased by the land cruisers firing past them at 101kph. Their impact on traffic, however, was dramatic. Several motorists almost came to an unpleasant end, swerving wildly around these rarely-seen rolling obstacles.

Gerhard (Apr 21, 2009)
Dubai
United Arab Emirates

Cycling Tracks
RTA now has water buses ... am I to understand we are now going to get RTA bicycles as well? Has any brave soul from RTA dared cycle along Sheikh Zayed Road as part of the 'feasibility study' for the 580 km cycle track masterplan? And where on earth will the space for this come from? You can barely walk anywhere at the moment, let alone cycle ... Well, at least it'll have a positive impact on the emirate's problem of bulging waistlines.

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