Dubai introduces traffic measures, speed limits for Expo City vehicle access
Expo City Dubai is not going to be completely car-free, which was a long time in the making. New masterplan of the city forming in Dubai’s south agrees that private, delivery and emergency services vehicles must access parts of the site, an official said.
"Moving around Expo City without cars would be, however, convenient and welcoming," Ahmed Al Khatib, chief development officer of Expo City Dubai, said. "The new master plan puts pedestrians at the centre of it, makes public transport and soft mobility more accessible, and there are parking lots around the edges of the site."
Traffic-calming & speeding will be implemented to improve traffic safety. Traffic calming is an aid to increase road safety. They’re usually with curvy roads and speed bumps.
The main sites of activity will be partitioned off into pedestrian zones,’ Al Khatib said. "Pedestrians will be heavily taken care of over vehicles and there will be no vehicle movement at all. It will create pedestrian paths in the city, pavements on major highways, paths and sikkas, 70 per cent of walkways will be shaded for more comfort".
A ‘Green Loop’ will be the main pedestrian corridor through all the big fringe wild places and into cities, the official said.
New plan
Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, had in October signed the revised masterplan for the city envisaging the legacy site of Expo 2020 Dubai. Expo City Dubai is 3.5sqkm, with 35,000-plus inhabitants and 40,000 workers.
More than 80 per cent of Expo 2020 infrastructure and buildings will remain, according to the master plan brochure. ‘They are Terra, Alif and the Connect Conference Centre (Opportunity Pavilion); Al Wasl; Rove – Expo City; the former Leadership Pavilion which will become Cheval Maison serviced apartments in 2025; the UAE Pavilion; the Surreal fountain; and entry gates’, reads the brochure.
The new strategy will be achieved through a "phased development strategy", Al Khatib added. This makes sure that every project meets current and future market needs. "As of this writing, we are advancing steadily on Expo Valley, Mangrove Residences and Sky Residences, the first units are scheduled to go into operation by Q1 2026."
"EXPO CITY already welcomes a lot of multinational companies and business leaders such as DP World, Emirates Group, Siemens Energy, Terminus, etc, more will join within the coming months," the official added.
"Plots for investors and developers are there and office units are available for rent, Expo Business district is also in the pipeline with a fresh source of business development... The first residents will start entering from 2026 when the land will be handed over at Expo Valley – a premier development of 484 detached and semi-detached villas and townhouses overlooking a nature reserve – and Mangrove Residences – three residential towers in Expo Downtown with 450 one-to-3 beds apartments, 4-bed loft apartments and 3-bedroom townhouses with spectacular views of Al Wasl Plaza".
Key districts
There will be several districts in the city. Expo Hills will be a low-density apartment community and Expo Fields will be a "health lifestyle model, complete with a school, athletic fields and public playing fields".
Expo Business will offer businesses campus like space. In the city’s Downtown you’ll find the Al Wasl dome, the floating Terra Gardens, and Terra Tower – a mixed-use luxury hospitality and office tower that will be the highest on site.
A ‘forest’ will provide social amenities, schools and sports centres that are nestled in nature.
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