ABU DHABI // Median fences, pedestrian bridges and mid-block signals are being built across the city, yet pedestrians continue to risk their lives by crossing roads in undesignated places, residents say.
Since last year, median fences have been erected on Mohammed bin Khalifa Street, Karama Street and several other streets in Abu Dhabi city to prevent people from dashing across several lanes of traffic. Jaywalking carries a Dh200 penalty but this has not deterred people from dodging speeding vehicles.
“Jaywalking is a complex issue since walkers are not required to get a licence to walk,” said Iftekhar Ahmed, a Bangladeshi-born Canadian electrical engineer who launched an awareness project on pedestrian safety in 2013.
“A lazy person will always try to find short cuts by dodging cars and ignoring traffic rules.”
In November, a pedestrian bridge opened to the public on Muroor Road, behind the Farah Style building in the Tanker Mai community. People can cross the road using the footbridge to visit the Mawaqif customer service centre, next to the Emirates Hospitality Centre building.
But a worker near the crossing said: “People are just too lazy to use the bridge.”
Pedestrians must tackle a flight of stairs, although they also have the option to take a lift, once it becomes operational.
“I always ask them to use the bridge, but many prefer to run across the road,” a worker said.
Ahmed Abdel Bae, 32, a Egyptian office employee, said he did not see any reason why people chose to endanger their lives and break traffic rules by darting in front of speeding vehicles.
“I always use this bridge,” he said. “Look at all these cars travelling at high speeds on both sides of Muroor Road.”
A new pedestrian bridge is also being built on Airport Road, between Delma and Mohammed bin Khalifa streets (13th and 15th streets).
People will be able to cross the road safely from the Commercial Bank of Dubai to the University Hospital. A worker at the site who did not wish to be named said they expected the footbridge to open to the public before the end of the month.
Nizad Nizar, 18, a Grade 12 student at Sunrise English High School, crossed Airport Road from Fathima Supermarket, dodging cars along the way.
“I might use the bridge once it’s open,” he said. “But it might consume some time.”
Another pedestrian bridge is on Airport Road, between Mohammed bin Khalifa and Al Saada streets (15th and 19th streets). Residents who wish to reach the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Mosque, St Andrew’s Church, St Joseph’s Church and St Anthony’s Cathedral in the Al Mushrif area can use this bridge.
“People are now climbing the stairs and crossing the road using the bridge,” a worker said. “But the elevator will only be ready after two to three months.”
Iqbal Ahmad, 35, a Pakistani engineer who has lived in Abu Dhabi for 14 years, welcomed the move by the Abu Dhabi government to make the city more pedestrian friendly.
“This bridge is going to be very good for the public,” he said. “If only people will use it instead of crossing the road, which is very dangerous.”
Pedestrian skywalks, however, need to be much better designed than some of the older ones in the city centre, said Glenn Havinoviski, a transport expert in Abu Dhabi.
“Making someone climb three flights of stairs or wait for a creaky elevator and then cross a metal walkway is not an appealing solution,” he said. “In front of Abu Dhabi Mall, I still see people darting across the street instead of using the skywalk.”
This month the Ministry of Interior launched a three-month traffic awareness campaign under the slogan "Ensuring Pedestrians' Safety".
rruiz@thenational.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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