By Parag Deulgaonkar www.khaleejtimes.com
Developers across the UAE have started working on incorporating mass transit systems into their mega developments to help communities avoid traffic snarls.
“In Dubai you would have seen in the past 24 months that there are congested roads,” Abdulla Mohammed Rafia, Assistant Director-General for Engineering and Planning Sector, Dubai Municipality, had said.
“We don’t want a future Dubai that is congested. We can’t have the Metro line go to every house, but we need to set some policies to relieve us from the traffic jams that we have now,” he stated.
In fact, the latest project to get a new mode of transportation is the Dh6-billion Bluewaters Island, which will house Dubai Eye, the world’s largest 210-metre Ferris Wheel, which will have a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system.
Construction work on the project is on full scale, with the giant A-frames of the Ferris wheel already in place.
As to building the transportation network, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) awarded the contract for the entrances of the island, which will cost Dh475 million.
As per the transport network plan released by the RTA, four lanes are dedicated to vehicles while two lanes are dedicated to PRT which will ease mobility of visitors connecting the island to Nakheel Harbour Metro Station. More info