New 16km cycling track to come up along Dubai's Jumeirah Beach

Dubai - Plans are in place to take the total length of such tracks in the emirate to 739 kilometres by 2026.

A new 16km cycling lane will be built along Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach — keeping the emirate right on track to becoming the most bicycle-friendly city in the world.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, on Saturday announced that the new cycling track by the beach is part of a grand master plan to extend the emirate’s total bike lanes to 739km by 2026.

“We provide all alternatives to make our society healthy and maintain a sustainable environment,” the Dubai Crown Prince said.

The Jumeirah Beach bike lane will be linked to the Jumeirah Street cycling track parallel to the Dubai Water Canal and to the existing cycling track alongside King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Street located in Dubai Internet City.

The first sector of the track will have a width of four metres, stretching alongside Jumeirah Beach, running parallel to existing jogging and walking tracks. The track extends from Dubai Water Canal to Umm Suqeim Park.

The second sector will have a width of three metres, runs alongside Jumeirah Street and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Street, ending in Dubai Internet City. It will serve several hotspots alongside Jumeirah Beach such as the Sunset Mall, Open Beach, Dubai Sailing Club, Kite Beach, Umm Suqeim Park, and Burj Al Arab.

Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said a master plan has been laid out to link cycling tracks to vital areas of Dubai.

“The Master Plan for Cycling Tracks 2026 envisages the construction of 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 in the coastal areas, such as Jumeirah, Al Sufouh and Al Marina, with the external tracks in Al Qudra, Seih Assalam and Nad Al Sheba via Al Barsha, Dubai Hills and Nad Al Sheba,” explained Al Tayer.

So far, 463km of new cycling tracks have been constructed until the end of 2020.

Dubai residents are now looking forward to enjoying a bike ride along Jumeirah Beach.

Andrew and his partner Gigi, who have been biking their way across the city for a while now, said the new track will encourage more people to try cycling.

“We mostly commute on cycles to places nearby. It not only takes us to our destination but also helps us stay fit. This will be a point of transformation to green and sustainable future.” they said.

Aathar Malpa, a resident of Barsha Heights who has taken part in several cycling events in the UAE, said he and his friends were thrilled to hear the news. “Cycling has been part of our routine since a very long time. Dedicated lanes will bring out more groups on the lanes.”

Farhan Qureshi said that with a cycling track nearby, he can now find time for fitness despite a busy schedule. “I find it difficult to ride cycles on the road due to traffic. These dedicated cycle lanes will help me and many others to commute to our workplace on bikes.”

Last week, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that it had endorsed a project to improve mobility around Expo 2020 Dubai bus stations, which would include 45kms of cycling tracks.

An avid athlete himself, Sheikh Hamdan memorably joined over 20,000 cyclists in the Dubai Ride event last year, when Sheikh Zayed Road was turned into a 14km cycling track as part of Dubai Fitness Challenge 2020.

ayaz@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai