Alta is again working with the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), this time to develop a Pedestrian Safety and Mobility Action Plan. Dubai's rapid growth in recent years has resulted in significant traffic increases and rising pedestrian road deaths. In 2007, pedestrian fatalities accounted for over 40% of the municipality's traffic fatalities. While those numbers have decreased over the past year due to ongoing RTA safety efforts, the 3-year goal of the Action Plan is to reduce the pedestrian accident rate an additional 30% while increasing walking trips by 20%. Alta is leading an international team on the project that includes Hyder Consulting Middle East and the Swedish National Road Consultancy.
As part of the project's first phase outreach, Alta led a series of multi-lingual pedestrian intercept surveys at 25 sites across Dubai. Over 1,000 surveys were gathered, providing information on origins/destinations, trip purposes, perceived barriers and challenges to walking, and preferences for facility improvements. Additional outreach included pedestrian safety presentations given by Alta planners Joshua Poppel and Rory Renfro to employees of the Dubai Drydocks and students at a local university as part of a series of traffic education and encouragement programs for the Gulf Coast Countries (GCC) Traffic Safety Week.
Using information gathered from the outreach efforts, along with pedestrian collision and land use data, Alta is developing a GIS-based pedestrian demand model that will assist the team in identifying priorities for infrastructure improvements. The completed Action Plan will include a series of concept design plans for new footbridges and pedestrian crossings, modified intersection designs and streetscape improvements, as well as legislative and policy directives to ensure that the roadway network is safe and accessible for all pedestrians. The plan will be completed in late Summer 2009. For more information contact
Brett Hondorp.
