Walking is an activity I have never naturally gravitated towards. It's not that I do not enjoy activity; I have always preferred to exercise rigorously and play sports, and tend to take it easy otherwise.
The only time I embark on a lengthy stroll is when the setting and surroundings - a white-sand beach, a green park - inspire a hike.
Walking in and around big cities has never appealed to me, and this is in no small part due to the fact that I grew up in the not-so-pedestrian-friendly cities of San Diego and Abu Dhabi. Spending a significant time car-less in each of them, I was forced to tackle their tough pedestrian terrains.
This, at times, felt like running a gauntlet - pavements suddenly and mysteriously ending as if I was in a walker's horror movie, being forcibly diverted along dangerous, busy roads where it felt as though I was creating a new, ultra-slow lane, and having to play a real-life game of Frogger by avoiding cars topping 120 kilometres per hour.
None of it made for enjoyable city explorations, because I never regarded these jaunts as jolly undertakings. But my perception shifted when I first set foot in San Francisco. The metropolis's urban authority has taken into account pedestrians, bikers and even wheelchair-users in the street plans.
Low, accessible curbs with ramps, wide sidewalks, clearly designated bicycle lanes and streets closed off to vehicles - all this encourages residents to leave their cars at home or forgo purchasing one in the first place. Traffic and pedestrians flow in harmony there, dispelling my belief that walking in a city is like being in battle.
I eventually returned to a more populated Abu Dhabi, now with a considerable number of pedestrians, and found many of them running the same gauntlet I once did - scaling high curbs, strolling alongside giant, off-roading vehicles and risking their lives to get to the elusive other side.
This is not to say the pedestrian issue has not been addressed. Nine new footbridges have been constructed around the city at crossing hot spots, offering pedestrian a safe passage to the other side.
Police are also coming down hard on motorists who don't give pedestrians the right of way, with threats of a Dh500 fine and six black points per incident.
Jaywalkers are also being slapped with a Dh200 fine when caught crossing at undesignated areas.
The waterfront development along the Abu Dhabi Corniche offers pedestrians and cyclists alike scenic walks and rides, with similar projects around the city in the pipeline.
The Abu Dhabi Executive Council, as well as the Urban Planning Council (UPC), have promised to address pedestrian and cyclist safety concerns, with the UPC incorporating safety measures into its street-design manual.
These efforts have already borne fruit - the number of pedestrian deaths in the first half of this year dropped 20 per cent compared to the same period last year. Yet, 31 pedestrians died on the capital's roads this year because many of the same obstacles still remain. Changes must come quick and fast to ensure road safety and encourage Abu Dhabi residents to take to their feet.
Thamer Al Subaihi is a reporter at The National
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.