The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai, UAE, has given the go-ahead for the construction of 10 pedestrian bridges in 2016 and 2017 in a number of vital locations in the emirate.

This will bring the total number of pedestrian bridges in Dubai to as many as 120 by 2017.

The decision was taken by RTA’s board of executive directors chaired by HE Mattar Al Tayer, the director general and chairman of the board.

Since its inception, the RTA has attached considerable attention to the provision of safe pedestrian crossings, and set a number of parameters upon which the locations of pedestrian bridges are selected; such as blind spots, areas that have heavy traffic movement, pedestrian movement  between the two sides of the road, the distance to the nearest pedestrian crossing, location of bus stops, location of malls as well as public and private organisations, and the feedback from the general headquarters of the Dubai police and the public, says Al Tayer.

Based on this, the new bridges will be constructed in a number of vital locations, including two bridges on Baniyas Road; and one each on Khaled bin Al Waleed Road,  Al Ittihad Road, on the Arabian Ranches Road (Road 323), Al Mankhool Road, Latifa bint Hamdan Road, near Bal Rimaitha Club and one near Al Tawar Centre, and on the Dubai-Al Ain Road nearby Skycourts Buildings, he said.

In addition, the RTA is currently constructing seven pedestrian bridges: two at Baghdad Road, and one each on Al Maktoum Road, Al Mina Road, Amman Road, Baniyas Road, and Al Rasheed Road. Work is more than 30 per cent complete on these bridges, and the project is expected to be completed during the first quarter of next year.

Al Tayer said over the past two years, the RTA has constructed 22 footbridges in a number of vital locations. The number of pedestrian bridges in Dubai has soared from 56 in 2010 to 74 in 2011, reaching 100 bridges by the end of 2014.

“These bridges contributed to recording the lowest rate of pedestrian fatalities on Dubai roads over 20 years. Statistics indicate pedestrian fatalities dropped from 9.5 fatalities per 100,000 of population in 2007 to seven fatalities per 100,000 of population in 2008, and continued the downturn to reach 2.3 fatalities per 100,000 of population in 2010, and dipped further in 2014 to its lowest rate of one fatality per 100,000 of population,” concluded Al Tayer.