I have had a copy of the BMP executive summary for quite some time now, so I knew basically what was in store – i.e. where the bike routes were planned to go, and whether they were on street lanes or separated paths – but that was about it. I was curious to see further details as to how they planned on threading these paths through the existing street network as well as finding reasons why what went where and checking out how in-depth their research was.
On the in-depth front, they pretty much have it covered. The BMP clocks in at a backbreaking 347 pages! Needless to say I won’t be toting it around in my panniers to use as reference material when verbally chiding motorists. They take a look at existing infrastructure, collision history data, existing legislation, current user counts, trip demand estimation, and existing constraints. Out of this they produced a network of cycle tracks and lanes and then decided on a schedule to roll out the system in phases (a total of 5 phases between 2008 and 2020).
I can’t say I completely agree with all of the decisions they made in locating cycling infrastructure, but overall it looks like a decent plan and will greatly enhance the cycle-ability of Dubai if it is built. I say if it is built, because the first phase of the work was due to be completed in December 2008, and as far as I can tell, none of the work has even yet commenced (despite numerous newspaper articles touting its forthcoming-ness). I have been meaning to go out and do a proper field survey to see if there are any ‘shovels in the ground’, but I have been in a faffing mood lately. I suppose now that I have the details, I can go check properly!
As the newsies have reported, the phase one projects were: an extension of existing Jumeirah Beach Rd path to Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Dhiyafa St, a path along Dhiyafa St from JB Road to the Great wall of SZR, A path along Mankool Rd from Dhiyafa St to computer St, a bike path around the creek and some random bike lanes in Deira. These routes would enable a less than intrepid cyclist to safely ride halfway across town, which is a pretty good start.
The JB Road path is supposed to be partially on the beach itself, and partially along the western footpath of the road (where beach access is restricted due to private use). The current JB Road path is labelled ‘substandard’, as it is only 1.5m wide and can only accommodate one way traffic. Where they are building new paths the width will be 2.5m wide, but there are no plans to expand the width of the current path. I can’t really see this route being of much use for the commuter cyclist as it is planned to zig-zag in and out of the beach and surrounding roadways as well as play dodgem with traffic turning off of JB Road. Never the less, it will be nice for a leisurely ride.
The Dhiyafa Rd path is also slated to be a separated path running along the south side of the street from JB Road to Al Wasl Road, and then one way paths on each side of the road from there to the Trade Center round about. They don’t really say what form it will take when heading through the Al Satwa Road round about, which conceivably could cause some conflicts. Curiously, there is also no mention of what happens when you dump a bunch of cyclists into the largest round about in town (trade center) without providing any specific access or infrastructure. Seems like a big oversight. In the second phase there is slated to be a path under the metro, but this is on the opposite side of the round about. This may cause some problems for the less experienced cyclist.
The Mankool Road path starts at Dhiyafa St and heads over into Bur Dubai, ending at Computer St. This path will run in a striped lane in the service road for half the route, and then a separated path on each side of the road for the remainder of the distance. The route will continue from Computer street to the Creek, but due to space constraints will only be marked with sharrows.
The route around the creek will basically stripe a lane where it is convenient, and leave large unfinished portions for later phases. In locations where development makes it impossible to complete the route they suggest creating floating walkways. I don’t really see this as being a plausible solution, I think they should have just bit the bullet and created inland pathway detours as they have done in NY. Even if they could get approvals for the floating walkway, the path would be so over-run with pedestrians as to make cycling near impossible.
Creekside path - Bur Dubai side
The Deira routes are bicycle facilities in name only. They would create a small network of sharrow routes rather than bike lanes or segregated pathways. Basically they don’t want to give up any parking to make way for cyclists, and the streets and footpaths are already narrow, so there is no room to give up there. Traffic in the area is a complete nightmare, barely moving as it is. Fewer parking spaces could mean fewer people driving into the area looking for parking. I think its time for Dubai to sack up and start pushing people forcibly out of their cars instead of coddling them. This area of town has more cyclists than anywhere else in town, you would think they would want to encourage even more people to ride – which would further reduce congestion – but I seriously doubt sharrows are going to help much on that front.
Deira Sharrow routes
In theory I like the idea of a physically separated bike path, it keeps cars out physically (which seems to be the only way they will comply), and thus speeds one along in safety. The only problem is intersections; once you separate yourself from traffic you have to enter and exit the flow at intersections (unless you provide a bridge or tunnel). This causes turning conflicts, which happen to be one of the largest sources of bicycle accidents. It also generally requires the cyclist to slow down and wait for vehicular traffic to pass. This seems completely at odds with the idea of a bicycle as a legitimate form of transportation. I don’t ride in the road because I enjoy it, I ride there because it is the fastest way to get from A to B. I rode the JB Road path once, it took ages going up and down curbs, weaving around obstacles, avoiding errant pedestrians and parked cars. That isn’t utility cycling, its leisurely cruising. Dubai needs to promote cycling as a form of transport, not just a whimsical activity on a Friday afternoon.
What, exactly, would be wrong with deducting 0.5m from each lane and handing it over to a curbside bike lane? Narrower lanes have been proven to reduce vehicle speeds (which can only be a good thing in Dubai), and no special infrastructure works are required, just sandblast the old lane markings off and paint some new ones, put up some signs and WHAMMO! I have a semi-safe place to ride. It would be perfect here since most main roads lack curbside parking – therefore there would be no threat of dooring. I can think of quite a few routes which could easily be converted quickly and cheaply.
I suppose my biggest complaint about the BMP is that it sacrifices truly great cycling infrastructure in the name of the status quo – i.e. the car. It threads its way in and out of available space, doing its best not to disturb the motorists rather than providing a facility that will create a leg up for cyclists. Where there is no more free space, well, bummer, guess you will have to make do with sharrows. We can’t possibly ask people not to leave their giant personal possessions sitting on public space for pennies an hour. Why, it is their God given right to park!
Its just another instance of Dubai talking out of both sides of it’s proverbial mouth. We’ll build the best metro ever! (and at the same time expand the roadway network to encourage more driving). We’ll have a world class bike network (as long as it doesn’t infringe on the ‘rights’ of motorists). No lewdness in public (but gobs of hookers in bars).
There is of course much more to the plan than just the first phase. As to whether it will just remain a plan, or actually get built, who knows? I have some very strong opinions about phase two of the plan, but that will have to wait for my next post, as this is turning into a novella. As always, write to me if you want more details. I am more than happy to send through the info I have.
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