A new stretch of bicycle track spanning 16 kilometres along the popular Jumeirah Beach is set to come up in Dubai.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, on Saturday posted a video on Twitter unveiling the new track.
Once complete, it will connect the existing Jumeirah Street cycling track, parallel to the Dubai Water Canal, with the existing cycling track alongside Dubai Internet City.
The construction of the new path is part of an approved Dh400 million strategy to make cycling safer in the emirate.
“I directed the implementation of a new bicycle path on Jumeirah Beach [which measures] 16km,” Sheikh Hamdan tweeted.
“We have a plan that will add 276km [of tracks], bringing the total length of bicycle paths in Dubai to 739km by 2026.
“We [want to] provide all [transport] alternatives to make our society healthy and maintain a sustainable environment.”
The first section of the track will be four metres wide and will run alongside the existing jogging and walking tracks that extend from Dubai Water Canal to Umm Suqeim Park.
The second section will be three metres wide and will run alongside Jumeirah Street and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Street up to Dubai Internet City.
It will serve several hotspots popular with visitors including Sunset Mall, Open Beach, Dubai Sailing Club, Kite Beach, Umm Suqeim Park, and Burj Al Arab.
“The public can use the track for cycling alongside a beach that boasts a variety of service facilities,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director-general of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
“They can also benefit from the shared bike services available at the Sunset Mall, Al Manara Mosque and Umm Suqeim Park.
“The speed limit set for this track is 20km per hour and is classified among mobility, sports and leisure tracks.”
The Dubai Bicycle-Friendly City Strategy 2025 includes 18 initiatives to improve the quality of life for residents in the city.
The main focus of the initiative is to transform public spaces to make them more user-friendly so residents can lead more active lifestyles.
There are currently more than 460km of cycle paths in Dubai and together with the RTA and Dubai Municipality, this landscape will expand drastically over the next few years.
It was not announced when the new track will open to the public.
In Dubai, the speed limit for tracks dedicated for cyclists is 30km per hour.
Tracks in urban areas dedicated to cyclists or shared with pedestrians have a speed limit of 20km per hour.
