12 Aug 2006

Dubai: Everyone in Dubai loves to have a car and so much the better if it's a big-engined gas-guzzling four wheel drive.

But how easy are things when you step out from your air-conditioned vehicle and have to tackle the streets on foot?

Life for pedestrians is likely to improve in Dubai following an announcement that Dh70 million is being spent on upgrading existing pedestrian crossings and building new overpasses.

As reported in Gulf News last week, the investment by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will include 17 new overpasses, seven signal crossings and four flat hump crossings. At least 17 roads will have fences to protect pedestrians.

City Talk spoke to some Dubai residents to find out their views on life as a pedestrian in the big city.

Civil engineer Harold Jeitler, 60, from Austria, said crossing some roads was "impossible" because car drivers were usually not very considerate.

"They do not take care of pedestrians or bicycles or motorcycles. Nobody cares for pedestrians. It is really dangerous.

"These crossings are very important, especially for children. It would be good to have them near schools and near shopping malls," he said.

Jamil Bangash, 30, a security guard from Pakistan, said: "I think it is a good idea for them to make underpasses and bridges. That's the best for the people."

A similar view was put forward by 23 year old Venezuelan Monica Albert, who is currently looking for a job.

"Having pedestrian crossings is vital because on some roads it is very hard for pedestrians. It is a very good idea for the authorities to build them," she said.

Eye surgeon Dr Ahmad Hassan, 27, from Egypt, said it was "a fantastic idea" to build more bridges because currently people had a "terrible" time trying to cross roads.

"It will encourage people to walk more. If it is difficult to park a car in one area, people will park somewhere else and walk there instead if there are crossings," he said.

Mary-Jean Makinano, 26, a Filipina who works in a shop, agreed that crossing some of Dubai's roads could be tough at times.

"It's very hard to cross, especially the highways because the cars go so fast. The new overpasses look nice because they have some shade."

Indian computer engineer Wasif Kazia, 27, said more crossings on Shaikh Zayed Road were particularly important. The statistics back up his suggestion as in 2005 a total of 23 people lost their lives while crossing the road.

"These new crossings are very good. Shaikh Zayed Road is very difficult for pedestrians to cross.

"There are lots of other roads that are difficult to cross as well, especially in Deira because the traffic is so heavy. There should be more pedestrian crossings in this area," he said.

Another person to highlight the danger of Shaikh Zayed Road was Arun Thampy, 27, a customer services assistant from India.

He said that while there are currently "a lot" of crossings for pedestrians scattered across Dubai, Shaikh Zayed Road did not have enough.

Sales manager Rami Benjamin, 38, from Egypt, agreed that there was a need for better facilities for pedestrians in Dubai.

"On the majority of streets there are no places where people can cross. This is a good idea," he said.

British secretary Samantha Stacey, 21, said: "Subways are very good it would be a good move to introduce more of them."

Marketing manager Abdul Razzak, 54, from India, said it was "very, very difficult" to cross many of Dubai's roads.

"There are so many accidents happening and many of them are fatal. People want to cross and they do it at the cost of their own lives.

"Dubai is a very beautiful city. It is important not to obscure the beauty of the skyline," he said, adding that underpasses were ideal as they were never eyesores.

Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.