Green Connections: Linking Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park, Abu Dhabi through pedestrian and bike trails

Abstract

Regular physical activity is the cheapest way to protect anyone from serious diseases. Walking and biking are the easiest form of exercise that a person can get that improve personal and mental health as well as energy. The reasons why many countries, including the UAE, adapt walking and cycling in their initiatives for an active and healthy community. The United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries, particularly members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, have historically adopted the vehicle-centric approach to road design, which contributes to increased congestion and travel delays, lower levels of safety, poorer public health, and more significant environmental impacts. These do not encourage alternative modes of transport such as public transport, cycling, or walking. Fortunately, design policies began to change recently in the region. The late President and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheik Zayed preferred the master plan to have straight lines to get to a place as quickly as possible thus contributed to Abu Dhabi's linear plan composed of grid patterns. The grid patterns were later called Sectors (city blocks) surrounded by main roads that separate each sector. Throughout the years, Abu Dhabi has been continuously promoting walking and cycling in the emirate slowly shifting its street design priorities from vehicle orientation to other street users such as pedestrians, transit users, and cyclists. The government has mandated the Urban Street Design Manual (USDM) which explicitly provides guidelines for the new standard related to street design in Abu Dhabi. The USDM explicitly sets out design specifications for street components such as carriageways, medians, and pedestrian realms based on land use and road capacity. And with the launch of the Walking and Cycling Master Plan (WCMP) in 2014, walking and cycling facilities were planned to help lessen the reliance on private vehicle usage. The government has been actively developing walking and cycle paths in a bid to encourage people to practice cycling as a sport but also as an alternate mode of transportation and to promote an active and healthy lifestyle for the residents of Abu Dhabi. Under the accelerator program Ghadan 21, which was launched in 2019, the community initiative called "For Abu Dhabi" was introduced to create, enhance and protect urban spaces and nature sites across the Emirate for a more attractive, joyful, and vibrant place to live in. Small and large-scale projects ranging from new parks, playgrounds for children, bike lanes, sports facilities, and contemporary artwork in public places are being rolled out across the emirate. There are many parks in Abu Dhabi, but the two longest and prominent ones are Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park. Both sit along a waterfront, thus the "Corniche" name. Corniche Park in Abu Dhabi is one of the famous go-to parks in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Corniche road is eight-kilometer long. It is a landscaped promenade along the waterfront that includes children's play areas, bicycle, and pedestrian pathways, cafes, restaurants, and the Corniche beach. Al Gurm Corniche Park is a newly refurbished park that has opened in Abu Dhabi as part of the Ghadan 21 initiative. The 3.5km park offers picturesque views of the Eastern mangroves and new walkways and bike lanes, doubling as an eco-tourist destination featuring water-themed education stations where you can spot local wildlife and learn about the local ecosystem. The Corniche Park and the Al Gurm Corniche Park are approximately 7.5 km away from each other. These two parks are great places for walking and biking with both having dedicated bike lanes waterfront views stretching the entirety of each park. The Abu Dhabi government had started enhancing pedestrian paths with dedicated bike lanes and has long-term plans on providing a connected network of bike paths along the perimeter of most of the sectors throughout the city. But bike paths along the sector's perimeter will mean that you will have to stop for every intersection and patiently wait for your turn to cross each one of them thus lessening the impact of the joy of biking. This viability study shall attempt to fill the gap of providing a continuous, and safer direct route that will link Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park with pedestrian and bike trails that will traverse inside strategic sectors of Abu Dhabi. Based on the survey result, actual observation on-site, GIS data, and an expert's interview; Linking Comiche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park through Pedestrian and Bike trails is a good idea. The government of Abu Dhabi already knows that its citizens and residents will be benefited physically by having an active lifestyle while walking or biking, and mentally by having a vast area to walk or cycle near their neighborhood. The direct pedestrian and bike route will also bring more people to Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park. Currently, this is only traversed by people through paths that are not continuous and travels interrupted by intersections designed for vehicular traffic. Strategic Sectors identified by the researcher, namely Sectors E19-02, E18-02, E4-02, and E3, are all equipped with existing pedestrian underpasses with ramps that can be used as uninterrupted links between sectors for an enjoyable walk or bike ride. These sectors together with Sectors E8 and E7 can be linked with Sector E25. It has the newly built Pedestrian and Bike paths as part of the "For Abu Dhabi" community initiative. The majority of the bike lanes constructed and planned by the government are located in the periphery of the sectors. As observed, the idea of locating the pedestrian and bike paths inside the sectors will be safer because the roads inside the sectors are not as busy compared to the main road. This will encourage the people near these paths to walk and bike more often because if is near their homes and has a direct route to Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park. The respondents also confirmed the fact that walking and biking will result in a healthy and active lifestyle for the community. During the actual physical survey, it was determined that the adequacy of existing facilities such as underpasses, sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, bike lanes, and safety features such as bollards, safety buffers between the street and sidewalks for pedestrians and bicyclists at the Corniche and Al Gurm Corniche Park and throughout the study area were found to be very satisfactory in terms of quality and quantity. Paved Sidewalks from an average of three to nine meters wide were available in the study area, but some sidewalks in Sector E3 were too narrow at one meter-wide. Adequate street lighting was also available at night. Several underpasses were connecting the sectors in the area of study. Inside the sectors, every intersection was fitted with speed humps to force the vehicles to slow down whenever they reached every intersection for the safety of other vehicles and pedestrians as well. The most relevant man-made features that affect pedestrian and bike mobility would be the street design (ie. travel lanes, sidewalks, on-street parking, and pedestrian crossings), and the pedestrian underpasses in the area of study. The street design is one of the most relevant man-made features affecting pedestrian and bicycle mobility, proper street design connects and enhances people's mobility by providing continuous access for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other modes of transportation. The typical street designs in the area of study were wide enough to make room for the dedicated bike lanes. Some streets were narrower and some have perpendicular on-street parking. Perpendicular parking took a lot of space from the sidewalk, this was a result of a car-oriented street design that the government is trying to improve. Some sidewalks have uneven levels which were dangerous for those not watching where they were going as some were 3 steps higher than the sidewalk. Some sidewalks don't have curb ramps, forcing cyclists to go down the bike and cross the street to the next sidewalk to bike again. These hassles were forcing cyclists to prefer to ride on the road because the frequent change of levels from the sidewalk to the road and vice versa, disrupt their continuous cycling. The typical problems found in the area of study were the parked cars on the pavements in front of the villas in both Sectors E4_02 and E18_02. These were the most relevant problems, as they directly blocked mobility in the public realm where the dedicated bike lanes were to be placed. The most effective safety feature in the area of study was the surveillance system, both natural and active systems. Natural surveillance means that the users of space have "eyes on the street" that act as a deterrent to crime and abuse of the space. Natural surveillance techniques increase the potential for witnesses by making it easier for people to naturally see into an area during their normal daily activities, which creates an increased risk of detection for potential criminals. Active surveillance systems were put in place in areas that are more prone to crime and misuse. The system will help control roads by monitoring traffic violations such as the use of hard shoulders, illegal parking, and misuse of roads and help deal with live traffic accidents. A survey was conducted with 93 respondents to get the perceptions when linking the two parks. A few years back residents' perceptions of walking and biking were very poor - there were no dedicated bike lanes, the weather was too hot, people's dreams of owning and driving a car, vehicle-oriented street designs, confiscation of bikes parked illegally on the street, news stories about cyclists being hit by vehicles - gave the impression that walking and biking would not do them any good. But the perceptions slowly started shifting positively when the government started promoting the Abu Dhabi Walking and Cycling Masterplan and started building pedestrian and bike lanes throughout Abu Dhabi. Slowly shifting from vehicle-oriented street design to pedestrian-friendly concepts. In sum, the respondents agree that the hypothesized benefits asked in the survey would accrue when implemented. It is a good sign when it comes to the materialization of this idea, as the public seems to support given that they generally agree about it. Inferences tables of learnings from the case studies and related literature were analyzed for recommendations. The adequacy of man-made and safety features for pedestrians and bicycle lanes in Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park and the area of study, the existing man-made and safety features in Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park, and the area of study as far as adequacy was concerned, were found to be more than adequate to justify the possibility of retrofitting the streets in the area of study to provide dedicated bike lanes on the sidewalks and not let the cyclist ride together with the cars on the roads. The roads and sidewalks were wide and well maintained, the street design provides good natural surveillance with clear sightlines, where no one with ill intentions can hide and attack anyone, and adequate lighting at night that makes everyone everywhere feel safe. Active surveillance systems have been installed in other areas as needed for added protection and as a means of preventing crime, reducing traffic accidents, and responding quickly to incidents even before they are reported. One of the most relevant man-made features that affect pedestrian and bike mobility in the study area when linking Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park was the street design being vehicle-oriented. Although sidewalks width were adequate at 10-meter at the most, cyclists were not using it as most sidewalks in the area of study were missing curb ramps. Without the curb ramps, the sidewalk as a bike path was not continuous and the cyclist had to go down the sidewalk, cross the road, and then go up again to the sidewalk to continue cycling, which was a tedious task, say the least. Some driveways also disrupt the continuous walking and cycling experience, this forced the cyclist to ride together with the cars even though it’s accident-prone. This discontinued path problem could be solved by introducing a speed table, which is the same level as the sidewalk acting as pedestrian and cyclist crossing, at the same time forcing the cars to slow down in these areas of the street. Bollards can also be introduced as barriers to prevent cars from accidentally driving through the sidewalks. For the longer sidewalks that cyclist enjoyed using, the lack of dedicated bike lanes makes it dangerous for the pedestrian to walk to and being hit by the cyclist that rides anywhere on the sidewalk and vice versa with the pedestrian walking anywhere without their dedicated space to walk to, ending up being hit also. The addition of a dedicated bike lane will segregate the pedestrians to the cyclist for their safety. And seats with bike racks could be provided for those who want to rest for a while and continue walking or cycling later on. The perpendicular parking lessens the width of the sidewalks and it is considered a challenge inside the sectors along with the parked cars on the sidewalks in front of the local’s villas. But according to the expert’s interview, the government can convert this perpendicular parking area to a parallel parking area to make way for a wider sidewalk. Other sidewalks fronting the Emirati Villas were found to have semi-permanent shading structures built on top of the sidewalk, acting as their carport. These parking spaces provided for the Emirati villas can be relocated to a mor suitable site near the villas especially those that don’t have a permit to occupy the sidewalk fronting their property. This compensates for the lost area that will be transformed into a pedestrian and bike lane on the sidewalk. The pedestrian underpasses were the 2nd most relevant man-made feature that affects pedestrian and bike mobility when linking Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park. These well-maintained underpasses equipped with ramps and monitored with CCTV were linking most of the sectors in the area of study providing uninterruptible walking and cycling experience. The most effective safety feature, the surveillance system (natural and active), needs no further improvement as there were already enough installed active, and natural surveillance implemented to the design of streets and communities throughout the whole Emirate. On the significant difference between pedestrians’ and bicyclists’ perceptions of the connection of Corniche Park and Al Gurm Corniche Park, the results of the survey were in favor of the proposed connection of the two parks. To attract those who are not yet convinced of the benefits of walking and cycling, the new path can be further developed. The direct route linking the pedestrian and bike trails inside the sectors could be further enhanced with a better urban landscape in the area of study. Walking and biking in a cemented area on a hot Abu Dhabi summer day will be tormenting to anyone. The paths can be enhanced with plants and trees to shade the route and at the same time will bring in more fresh air into the area. Street furniture like benches, garbage bins, fancy lamp posts can give character to the trails. This is to emphasize the direct route between the two parks. Strategically located parklets/pocket parks and other facilities like cafes, baqalas, supermarkets, restrooms, and other facilities throughout the trails could be built that could attract the population and help enliven the area. As a new proposal in comparison to the existing bike lanes and planned network within Abu Dhabi, the bike lanes could be built using photovoltaic panels prefabricated in concrete and covered by an upper layer of tempered glass, under which the photovoltaic cells are placed. The electricity generated by the solar panels could be used for the light poles along the trails. Another technology alternative to solar panels that could be used is piezoelectric energy. Pedestrian paths and bike lanes could be built with the pressure-sensitive pavement that can generate electrical energy through the friction of bicycle tires. The sidewalks could have 3d street art illusions to attract those social media influencers. Some sidewalks could have glow-in-the-dark treatment to the pavings for more attractive effects at night. Bike-sharing facilities just like the ones in Corniche Park could be made available throughout the length of the trails for those residents who does not have their bicycles. Another way of encouraging residents to try walking and cycling is by incentivizing the physical activities along the trails. An app could be created that users can use, that can track their activities by GPS to record their accomplishments and be rewarded with points accordingly that can be used in exchange for a cold drink in a vending machine or for use with the bike-sharing facility along the trail.