Junction Spacing: the case of Al Wasl Rd.

Junction Spacing: the case of Al Wasl Rd.

Block sizes, junctions spacing and the density of intersections have the greatest impact on the public realm and the pedestrian behavior. Al Wasl Road is a great reference to see how road planning and urban context go hand in hand: with a 15-Kilometer ride along this road, from 2nd December Road to Umm Suqueim Street, it is possible to see a vibrant urban environment, with an active ground floor and frequent crossings, which turns into a low-density residential environment with distant crossings and almost no pedestrian activity.


al satwa

The Northern stretch of Al Wasl runs through Al Satwa, a mixed-use neighborhood consisting of retail outlets, active ground floors with a variety of commercial activities, condos and detached residential dwellings, as well as public functions such as the Satwa Grand Mosque and the Satwa bus terminal. In this area, where sidewalks are crowded with pedestrian flows the entire day, junctions are very frequent with distances ranging from 130 meters to the maximum of 300 meters, with traffic lights regulating the vehicle traffic and pedestrian crossings every 280-500 meters.


● umm suqeim

A very few places differ more to Al Satwa than Umm Suqeim, a low-density residential neighborhood with detached villas. Al Wasl is the only road infrastructure where some public functions are available, mainly Clinics alternated with a few restaurants, shops and gas stations. In this area most of the functions are reached by car and the pedestrian activity is very limited; junctions, mainly right-in / right-out are far apart and the distance between signalized intersections vary from 1.5 to 2 Kilometers.