DUBAI // The city has a new place to stroll, jog or just relax.
The Dh100 million 14-kilometre Jumeirah Corniche, along the scenic Jumeirah beach from the Burj Al Arab to Dubai Marine Beach Resort near Jumeirah Mosque, fully opens today.
The corniche, the longest in the city, runs next to six residential communities. It has a five metre-wide walkway, a four metre-wide jogging track, shaded benches, retail kiosks and toilets.
“I am thinking of going jogging there,” said Fabien Lambeth, who lives in Jumeirah Beach Residences.
“There is no soft track for running in JBR or Media City, where I work. I have knee trouble and a soft track will be easy on my knees. It’s great that this will open. There is nothing like it in the Marina. It’s a shame there aren’t more in Dubai. It would be nice to have more.
“I wish there could be similar facilities for cyclists. If the Jumeirah Corniche could accommodate cyclists as well, people would love it.”
Camille Richard, another JBR resident, said: “We go to the Kite beach often and are bound to go to the Corniche as well. But we definitely need more cycling tracks and work-out machines like in some beaches in Miami.
“There are always some machines next to the jogging tracks. They aren’t like those in the gyms but are good work-out options.
“There is a lot of trouble cycling in Dubai and accidents can happen on the roads, which is why we need more tracks. Right now, we go to Endurance City, which is really far.”
The new development, 2km of which opened in August, will improve the health of families in Dubai and the community as a whole, said Mattar Al Tayer, head of the Roads and Transport Authority.
It will expand further, he said.
“The Jumeirah Corniche will be linked at a later stage with the Walk and the jogging and walking tracks of the Dubai Water Canal, which is a new urban destination in the making. The Canal, which links the Business Bay with the Arabian Gulf, will add six kilometres to the Dubai Waterfront.”
Work has already begun on the Dh1.76 billion canal project, which will extend Dubai Creek across the city, connecting it to the Arabian Gulf in a semi-circular shape.
Traffic diversions on Sheikh Zayed Road towards Dubai between Safa Park and Business Bay began at the weekend to allow construction of the canal.
The 13-hectare Jumeirah Beach Park and public beach will be closed for the next two years while the work takes place. The new canal, which will be ready in 2016, will also cut through Safa Park but Dubai Municipality has no plans to close it.
pkannan@thenational.ae
