Al Ittihad Road revamp: Pedestrian bridge and 3 new bus stops to come up soon

Being the main road leading into Sharjah from Dubai, and serving a fast-growing population in the area adjacent to Al Mamzar beach, Al Ittihad Road forms a popular stretch of highway on the southern edge of the emirate.

However, for long the road has been considered one of the most dangerous roads, as pedestrians cross the six-lane highway without the help of any pedestrian crossings.

While on one side of the road two popular malls – Al Ansar Mall and Safeer Mall - are located, bachelor residences are found on the other side, and a pedestrian crossing cannot be found nearby.

As a taxi would take the commuter on a tour along Al Ittihad Road and back, pedestrians are tempted to cross the road on foot.

Positioning themselves between cars speeding at 120 kmph and sometimes more; some have made it, while many others have not.

The announcement of a bridge soon to be built to accommodate the cross-over must, therefore, come as a relief.

A pedestrian bridge will be built in front of Al Ansar Mall within a year time, said a spokesperson of the Sharjah Transport Corporation (STC), and in the long term, more bridges will follow.

Furthermore, three new bus stops will be located along Al Ittihad Road for the bus en route to Dubai. The intercity bus departing from Al Rulla currently stops at two locations in Sharjah, Al Jubail Bus Station and National Paints, to arrive in Al Ghusais in Dubai every 18 minutes during the day.

One of the new bus stops will be located in front of Al Ansar Mall, right next to the pedestrian bridge, said the spokesperson.

STC held a press conference to announce the launch of a survey called 'Together for Integrated Sustainable Transportation'. To define the Comprehensive Transport Master Plan for the emirate up to 2013, the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) and STC will carry out a public survey in October and November this year, studying and analysing public transport behaviour.

The questionnaires of the survey will elicit preferences of transportation options, the peak timings of vehicles use, origin- destinations and preferred routes and other models of transportation.Based on these findings several conceptions and solutions will be formed that will help develop a robust multi-modal strategic transport model.

"The plan is a practical step that aims at finding out effective short-term solutions for current traffic congestions," said His Excellency Sheikh Khaled Bin Saqr Al Qassimi, chairman of DPW.

The plan will also consider evaluating existing road networks and public transport systems, in addition to setting a long-term strategic plan (2030) that will consider economic and population growth of Sharjah and to accommodate the expected increase of traffic movement that will be controlled by a comprehensive system copes with international best practices. 

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