34 new pedestrian bridges will be built across Dubai from 2021 to 2026, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced. Once all the bridges are complete, the total number of pedestrian bridges in the emirate will stand at 150.

Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of RTA said that the construction of pedestrian bridges in Dubai is part of the city’s traffic safety strategy, targeting a zero-fatality rate to rank Dubai amongst the world’s safest cities in traffic safety.

He made the statement following an inspection tour of cycling tracks and pedestrian crossing projects currently undertaken by RTA in Dubai, along with Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police lieutenant general Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri.

“RTA considers certain perimeters when determining the locations of pedestrian bridges in Dubai such as the intensity of traffic, pedestrian accidents and fatalities, speed limit, number of lanes, the movement of people between the two sides of the road, and the nearest pedestrian crossing and bus stops. The traffic studies also assign due consideration to areas where entities and retailers are abundant as well as run-over accidents hotspots,” said Al Tayer.

The two officials also visited some of the cycling tracks that the RTA built, which link communities with various public transportation systems. The RTA said that it has already constructed 425km worth of cycling tracks and plans to extend them further to as much as 647km by 2025.

The two officials also inspected the pedestrian bridge on King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Street at the Marina. It features a design inspired by the urban outlook of the locality and is considered the first four-way bridge built at the intersection of the King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Street with Al Gharbi Street nearby JBR. The bridge stretches 65m and handles about 8,000 people per hour in all directions.

Al Marri lauded the RTA’s efforts to upgrade infrastructure to help promote the culture of using cycling tracks and make Dubai a bicycle-friendly city providing suitable mobility options that encourage people to practice cycling sport.