Pedestrians to benefit from UPC's new utilities guidelines

Abu Dhabi (WAM): Pedestrians could soon benefit from a new set of guidelines for the installation of underground utilities in Abu Dhabi Emirate's urban developments. The Utility Corridors Design Manual (UCDM), launched yesterday by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), aims to reduce the width of public Right of Ways (street width) and potentially, therefore, the distances pedestrians have to walk, by making more efficient use of the space below street level. It provides planners, developers and engineers with clear guidelines for the exact location and width of underground ‘corridors' for utilities such as water pipes, storm-water drainage, power cables, fibre-optic cables, sewage pipes, and district cooling systems beneath new streets across the Emirate. Arranging these corridors into a narrower configuration will enable developers to design more pedestrian-friendly streets, with shorter distances to walk. The UCDM also oversees the provision of corridors for trees, streetlights and landscaping above new streets. To produce the manual, the UPC collaborated with a number of stakeholders, including the Department of Municipal Affairs, Abu Dhabi City Municipality, Al Ain City Municipality, Western Region Municipality, Abu Dhabi Police, Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council and the Department of Transport, as well as utility companies and service providers. Mohamed Al Khadar, Executive Director of Development Review and Estidama, UPC, said, "The launch of the UCDM is another milestone for the UPC. In line with the requirements of Vision 2030, it will ensure that utility corridors are efficiently planned underground, which in turn will create more attractive and walkable streets aboveground for the benefit of pedestrians. "The UCDM will be added to our suite of planning policies, regulations, guidelines and manuals that drive our Complete Sustainable Communities initiative forward for the creation of more comfortable, liveable and sustainable communities." – Emirates News Agency, WAM