Pedestrian bridges could be constructed on key highways across the north as part of efforts to save lives.
The Northern Municipal Council has unanimously approved the proposal that mentions busy roads such as the Budaiya Highway, Janabiya Highway, and Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway between Hamad Town and Wadi Al Sail.
It was presented by council chairman Ahmed Al Kooheji, who said the number of vehicles on Bahrain’s roads was on a rise and posed a threat to pedestrians crossing major highways.
“We are looking at around 660,000 privately owned vehicles in 2019 and that doesn’t include the large trucks, public transport and government cars,” he said.
“With the development that is happening across the kingdom we demand the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry look into the proposal because these locations are dangerous and many people are crossing these roads.
“In the previous legislative term we sat down with the minister along with banks and private companies who have expressed interest in undertaking the project.”
During the council’s meeting, councillor Mohammed Al Dhaen also highlighted the commercial and marketing opportunities present in the projects.
“This is an incredibly beautiful project that will benefit the entire country and has many benefits such as beautification, safety, and commercial benefits as they can be used for advertising,” he said.
“These banners and advertisements that we see on the streets, which can fly away and damage cars and injure people, can be replaced by the ads placed on these concrete bridges.”
The proposal was unanimously approved by the council and will be sent to Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf for review.
The GDN reported in February that a proposal to build more pedestrian bridges in accident-prone zones was submitted by the Southern Municipal Council amid a safety alert.
Statistics provided by the Interior Ministry’s website show that 28 vehicle-related deaths occurred in Bahrain from January until October last year, while there were 350 serious accidents, from a total of 839 accidents.
The GDN also reported in June last year that four of the five pedestrian bridges located on Al Fateh Highway, King Faisal Highway, Al Estiqlal Highway and Riffa Highway were closed for maintenance work.
Mr Khalaf later said the bridges would be under lockdown until a structural safety assessment was completed.
It followed concerns raised over the safety and structural stability of the bridges when the responsibility of maintenance was transferred from the municipalities affairs department to the bridges department within the ministry.
The bridges department has suspended maintenance work on all four public properties and has launched an inquiry into their structural safety to ensure the pedestrian bridges would not endanger people’s lives.
reem@gdn.com.bh
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