The rate of road accidents on shared pedestrian and cycling tracks has reached near zero thanks to the high safety standards of the project, said an official.
“To ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists from road accidents, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) had built pedestrian and cycling tracks following high standards of safety,” said Manager of Highway Projects Department at Ashghal, Eng. Bader Darwish.
Speaking on a Qatar TV programme, he said that road accidents on pedestrian and cycling tracks recorded near zero according to recent statistics.
“Cycling track is new concept in the country to provide alternative means of transport to community and to cater the sport sector,” said Darwish.
He said that Ashghal built Olympic tracks with international standard along Al Khor Coastal Road to promote the sport. In May this year, Ashghal opened the shared pedestrian and cycling tracks on the eastern side of Al Khor Road along 38km, integrating with the Olympic Cycling Track on the western side of the highway, giving more opportunities for hobbyists to practice cycling and jogging, ensuring complete safety.
To provide more safety for pedestrians and cyclists, Ashghal announced installation of six cycling counters for cyclists, including four on the Olympic Cycling Track, and two others on the common pedestrian and cycling track.
These devices provide riders with updated information and useful data such as date, time, weather and temperature. These devices also contribute to ensure safety of riders by displaying alert messages in case of bad weather (wind or fog) or in the event of any accident on the track.
The devices are enabled to monitor the number of bicycles used on the track per hour, day or year, to provide a database and statistics for any future studies. In addition, the devices play advertising role as they display advertisements of important sporting events.
Speaking about the preparation of Ashghal for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Eng. Bader Darwish said Ashghal built roads leading to the stadiums, venues of the mega sporting event following a well-planned strategy.
He said that the strategy was prepared by Ashghal in coordination with Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) to build roads and other facilities to meet the requirements to host FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, adding that the projects are being delivered on time as per the schedule.
Highlighting the achievements of Ashghal, Darwish said: “We are developing the projects following Qatar National Vision 2030. The vision focuses on buildings, roads and infrastructure development, public facilities and beautification.”
He said that Ashghal implemented many projects related to road network, transportation to cater the needs of community. “The government building and facilities for services developed by Ashhgal also supported greatly in boosting business activities and providing better services to people,” said Darwish.
He said that Ashghal also developed many facilities under beautification projects which aimed at making Qatar beautiful in all seasons.
