For many years, great care was given to develop Qatar’s road infrastructure. As a result, the country’s roads are some of the best in the region.

However, unfortunately, the construction of pedestrian bridges has lagged far behind. After hundreds of people got into accidents while crossing roads, authorities finally woke up to the need of the hour.

As a result, the construction of pedestrian bridges has gathered pace in recent months.

In October, 2016, HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment established a new committee to oversee the implementation of different stages of building and operating pedestrian bridges, reported Qatar News Agency.

The latest pedestrian bridge to be installed in Qatar is the one across E-Ring Road, and it has led to increased demands for similar bridges from residents of other localities in the country. The new bridge is located between Al Thumama signal and the intersection where it meets Airport Street.

While people have been calling for a similar bridge in the vicinity of LuLu Hypermarket on D-Ring Road for sometime now, residents and shopkeepers from other parts of Doha — such as Muntazah, New Slata, Bin Mahmoud, Fereej Al Nasr, Al Sadd and Al Hilal — have also highlighted the necessity of installing pedestrian bridges across the arterial and busy C-Ring and D-Ring roads, reported Gulf Times.

Authorities had earlier said there were plans to construct about 160 pedestrian bridges in different parts of Qatar in the coming years.

City residents opine that there was a ‘greater need for installing pedestrian bridges urgently in places that house government offices frequented by a large number of visitors every day.’

Due to lack of parking space, many visitors are forced to park their cars on the other side of the road. Crossing the road then becomes a nightmare.

There have also been plans to make pedestrian bridges multipurpose units. An earlier report in The Peninsula stated that some of the bridges will be equipped with shops, restaurants, toilets, ATMs and electric elevators.