Dubai to expand cycle lanes to 850km

New Dubai tracks will more than double the current 316km length

If you were living in Dubai back in 2006, you might remember that cycling lanes covered about 10km. Now it’s more like 316km. But in the near future? You can expect more than double that.

Cyclists around the city will be delighted to know that plans are being made to expand the tracks to 850km by 2030. That’s a whole lot of room for people to pump their legs.

Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) strategy planner Mona Al Osaimi announced these details during the three-day MENA Transport Congress and Exhibition.

Al Osaimi added that the RTA has a complete plan to support walking and cycling in Dubai, after their success of public transport development.

And it certainly seems to be working, with notable improvements to pedestrian footpaths in neighbourhoods such as Barsha Heights, Al Sufouh and Dubai Media City, to name a few.

Public transportation reached a whopping 551.7 million rides last year, and RTA wants to expand on the different ways people can get around the city.

International transport expert Brent Toderian told Khaleej Times: "As Dubai's population grows, the challenge is to provide mobility to the people with less space, less public cost and the solution is not to build more roads for cars."

Details on where the tracks will be set up have not yet been revealed. While we wait, Dubai has plenty of lanes to get pedalling on, including Al Qudra’s 86km track.

If you’re ready to start streaming through Dubai on the back of a bicycle, check out everything you need to know with our guide .

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in Time Out Dubai on Monday May 7th, 2018 http://bit.ly/TimeOutDubaiCycle