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Trams to decongest Al Safooh proposed

DUBAI — In a move that is likely to have a major impact on traffic congestion as well as beauty of Al Safooh and adjoining areas, Dubai Municipality is planning to construct two tram-lines stretching from Madinat Jumeirah to Dubai Marina, Khaleej Times has learnt.

The service will cater to the numerous hospitality properties in the area as well as tourists and residents of Dubai Marina and Al Safooh area.

The proposed tram service is part of a larger project being planned by the Roads Department of the civic body, and involves modification of the road network in Al Safooh area, Hashim Mohammed Al Hashmi, Head of Roads Planning Section revealed. “We conducted a study to determine the problems with the roads and related services in Al Safooh area. The study covered the entire area, all the way from Madinat Jumeirah to Dubai Marina, besides covering Shaikh Zayed Road as the project's east-side boundary,” he said.

Giving details of the proposed tram service, Al Hashmi said the service would not only ease traffic congestion in the area – which boasts of some of the biggest names in the emirate's hospitality industry, but also add to the look and feel of the place and facilitate movement of residents of major residential complexes located in and around the specified area.

He revealed that the tram service would be connected with the under-construction light rail project, for reasons of flexibility and connectivity.

As part of it's solutions to improve the road network in the area, the civic body is also designing new roads.

Al Hashmi said the simulations the department created to study the area's roads revealed there were certain problems with the existing network. One of the solutions the civic body came up with involves modification of the road network. “We are planning to construct a road parallel to Shaikh Zayed road and Safooh road, and this will connect Umm Suqeim with Knowledge Village. In addition, we will also build another road parallel to Umm Suqeim road, and this will link Al Safooh area with Al Barsha,” he explained.

The project would also involve the construction of new interchange in the southeast of Dubai Marina and “major modifications” of the under construction Fifth Interchange on Shaikh Zayed road to provide more direct links to the marina, Al Hashmi said. “The new interchange will serve Dubai Marina, Dewa and the Jumeirah Lake Towers, and will ease traffic congestion from the south of the marina,” he explained.

The civic body, under the new plan, will also demolish the single carriageway bridge that connects Al Safooh with Dubai Marina, and replace the same with a three-lane dual carriageway bridge. In addition, the civic body will also effect modifications to the marina's internal road network to facilitate traffic flow. “There are two crossings over the bay at the marina, while a third is under construction. According to our new plan, a fourth crossing will be built at the marina,” he added.

Al Hashmi revealed that a high quality public transport bus service would be introduced for the residents of Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence. “The corridor in this area is too narrow and since the buildings have come up little can be done about it. We therefore came up with the idea of an exclusive bus service to free the internal roads, as an alternative to broadening of road network which is not possible,” he said, adding that it was too early to say if the service would be managed by the civic body's public transport department or a private operator.

According to Al Hashmi the study phase of the project was recently completed and it is now in the design stage. The implementation stage of the project involving the construction of the roads and related services will begin once the designing is over and would take 18 months to complete.

Facts and Figures

The study was based on findings on the projected number of road trips once the developments in Dubai Marina and other areas, covered under the project, are completed.

20,000 vehicle trips per hour between Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence.

20,000 vehicle trips per hour from Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village.

30,000 trips per hour from the south of Dubai Marina and the Jumeirah Lake Towers.

12,000 trips per hour from Emirates Hills.