Take a stroll through Abu Dhabi in 20 years time and dangerous traffic will be the last thing you have to worry about when you want to cross the road. There'll be no more anxious looks for fast cars turning right, raised crossings will give you the right of way, and the seemingly endless trek to the other side will be a lot shorter because the roads will be narrower. You will also be closer to nature, since the streets will be lined with trees.
If transport planners at the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council get their way, that is. The planners are drawing up the first major changes to Abu Dhabi's streets since they were built decades ago, in a bid to make them safer. They are especially targeting the "superblocks", which are longer than standard city blocks and bounded by multi-lane roads that residents find such a hazard to cross. . Next month, the council will publish the city's first street design manual for developers, which, it says, "aspires to establish Abu Dhabi as a ground-breaking model".
igale@thenational.ae