Festival City will soon be accessible by water, as a new marine link will be provided from Al Jadaf, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said.
By early next year, a waterway commuter service will be launched between Dubai Festival City and Al Jadaf, said Hussain Khansaheb, Director of Marine Department at the RTA in a statement to Emirates 24|7.
Festival City is a popular shopping, dining or leisure destination. Situated at the waterfront of Dubai Creek, the mall and its many restaurants provide a unique view with the skyline of Dubai in the background.
However, it is not a place easy to reach. With currently no links to the Metro network and only a few buses serving the area, it has become a destination for the car commuter, and public transportation users have somewhat missed out on the fun.
The new link is expected to provide better access to the area. From Al Jadaf Metro station, the commuter can reach the marine station on foot, and from there a boat will lead directly to the other side.
It is not clear which vessel will be used, but the route has been determined. “The RTA recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dubai Festival City management,” said Al Khansaheb.
“Currently a 200-metre footpath is being constructed to facilitate the walk to the marine station, which will take about ten minutes. Once this footpath is done, the marine link will be opened.”
The proposal of a new marine link was first shared with the public with the opening of Al Jadaf and Creek Metro stations on the Green Line in February this year.
“Al Jadaf and Creek stations; which are located at the end of the Green Line track, serve existing projects and others under construction such as the Culture Village and Sama Al Jadaf, and they will also serve the Dubai Festival City through operating a marine transit service,” Mattar Al Tayer, Executive Director of the RTA, said at the time.
At that time, the marine link was planned to connect to Creek Metro station.
The daily ridership of Al Jadaf Station was forecasted as 2,100 riders per day, with the expectation that projects under development would increase this number.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
