Ashghal opens 38km long shared pedestrian cycling path on Al Khor Road
- 3 years ago
The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ has opened the shared pedestrian and cycling tracks on the eastern side of Al Khor Road along 38 km, 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.
The track is 38 km long and 6 meters wide, passing through 18 underpasses, to provide a smooth and uninterrupted movement. In order to facilitate better use of the tracks along the road, 80 cycle-parking points, 100 benches and 20 resting areas are provided.
Cycling Counters
To provide more safety for pedestrians and cyclists, Ashghal announced installation of 6 cycling counters for cyclists, including 4 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.
These devices enable 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.
For his part, Eng Yousef Al Emadi, Director of Projects Affairs at Ashghal, confirmed that opening of the new pedestrian and cycling path along with Olympic cycling track will allow more amateur and professional athletes to practice sports and change the lifestyle, especially with the provision of ‘bicycle cycling counters’ that provide all data and safety related information for riders.
He added, saying: Ashghal seeks to deliver sports promoting infrastructure in the country and it include provision of about 2,647 kilometers of pedestrian and cycling paths in Qatar by 2022. With this new opening, Al Khor Road has become a major sport track as it includes the Olympic Cycling Track and a key link connecting many vital sports facilities such as Lusail Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Lusail Sports Complex and Doha Golf Club.
On the other hand, Eng. Badr Darwish, Highway Projects Manager at Ashghal confirmed that the shared pedestrian and cycling path is a new addition for cyclists and joggers. He noted that it provides an option for amateur bike riders and an alternate for Olympic Cycling Track on the opposite side of Al Khor Road.
He added that 6 cycling counters have been installed for riders to maintain their safety and provide them with a safe journey, as the devices display alert messages in case of bad weather or in the event of any accident on the path to ensure safety of the riders and many other useful data for riders use during their trip.
Olympic Cycling Track
It is worth noting that Ashghal opened the Olympic Cycling Track in 2020, with 33km length and 7 meters wide, facilitating international sports competitions, as the track is designed to allow speed up to 50 km per hour, with the provision of non-stop track with 29 tunnels and 5 bridges.
Al Khor Road and Sport Facilities
The road is also considered a major link to many sports facilities, as it connects directly with Lusail Stadium and Al Bayt Stadium, and eases access to Al Rayyan Stadium through linking Al Majd Road, in addition to facilitating access to Semaisma Youth Center, Al Khor Youth Center, Al Khor Sports Club, Lusail Sports Complex and Doha Golf Club.
Al Khor Road and Guinness Record
In September 2020, Ashghal succeeded in breaking two records for the longest connected cycling path, as well as the longest piece of continuously paved asphalt on Al Khor Road.
The length of longest piece of connected asphalt pavement reaches 25. 275 km, and the longest connected cycling path with is 32.869 km long with 7 meters width.
Through Olympic Cycling Track, Ashghal aims to implement a connected and safe network of cycling paths, raising public awareness about healthy transportation and motivate the community to practice sports.
It is worth noting that these tracks allow cyclists to ride at a speed up to 50 kilometers per hour. The track provides 29 tunnels and 5 bridges to facilitate uninterrupted ride. The track is designed completely separated from vehicle traffic to ensure complete safety of cyclists. Such elements qualify the track for holding international sports events, especially given the high speed that the contestants can reach. There are also 80 bicycle stands, 100 benches and 20 rest facilities provided along the route, besides 1450 lighting poles installed along the Olympic track to stimulate exploring it at night.
Ashghal team accelerated pace of work on the project and opened it to public, to break the record for the longest piece of continuously paved asphalt. The team continued uninterrupted work for 10 consecutive days during which they poured 1.8 million square meters of asphalt to pave 65 kilometers.
Alternate for Al Shamal Road Linking with Doha
Al Khor Road extends along the eastern coast of Qatar along 33 km from the northeast of Doha to the northeast of Qatar, after successfully converting the old Al Khor Road into a highway that extends from Al Khor City to Qatar University Street in Doha. The old road of two lanes in each directions is converted to an expressway with five lanes in each direction, enabling about 20000 vehicles per hour in both directions instead of 8000 vehicles per hour on the old road. This will not only increase the road's carriage capacity but also enhance traffic safety that Ashghal pursues by provision of two lanes for emergency transport.
Connecting Major Roads
Al Khor Road is connected to several main roads throughout, including connection with parallel roads such as Al Khor-Semaisma Road, Al Majd Road and Al Tarfa Street, which provides various options for road users to travel between northern and eastern regions, as well as western and southern regions via Al Majd Road.
Residential Neighborhoods
Apart from Doha and Al Khor cities, Al Khor Road serves more than 20 residential neighborhoods such as Semaisma, Umm Qarn, Tinbak, Wadi Al Banat, Rawdat Al Hamamah, Lusail, The Pearl, Leqtaifiya and Al Tarfa among others. The road also facilitates access to Mesaieed and Dukhan through the intersection of the road with Al Majd Road.
Recreational Facilities
The road will also provide smooth traffic movement in front of those heading to a number of recreational facilities such as Katara, Semaisma Beach, Al Farkiah Beach, Al Daayen Celebrations Complex and Al Khor Corniche.
Educational Facilities
Al Khor Road also facilitates access to many educational institutions such as Qatar University, Community College in Qatar, College of the North Atlantic, Qatar Leadership Academy and Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
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