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[ChrisO]

I am interested which parts of the Marina people like better and why?

Some people seem to like the upper marina with all the very tall skyscrapers but I prefer the lower marina towards Jebel Ali because the buildings are smaller (5-15 storeys) and one wont feel so lost between the huge buildings.

[dubai freak]

I love the entire Marina but if I were to pick a favourite area, like Justin it would also be around TLH area. It is going to be much more comfortable living in & around smaller buildings, there is going to be a lot of shadows/dark spots around the tall towers as they appear so close together.

The great thing is, its only a relatively short walk to any point within the marina & the promanade looks fantastic. The new 'Walk@JBR' sounds excellent & only a short walk away, it's a new shopping centre running through Jumeriah Beach Residence with over 400 retail outlets including restaurants, cafes etc.

PS I hope they position one of the new 'Light Rail System' stations not to far away from TLH Tower.

[ChrisO]

I have seen some plans for the Light Rail System and unfortunately there was only one stop for the Marina close to the phase 1 buildings. Hopefully they will add another one close to TLH.

What do you know about beach access for Marina residents?
As far as I know the first 10meters from the water have to be accessible for the public even if a beach area is otherwise owned by a hotel. Question is how the beach will be accessible if the whole beach is filled with buildings like Hotels or JBR buildings?

[dubai freak]

I would like to think the authorities would try & keep the beach public; as much as possible. The arrangement was very similar on my last holiday in Florida's, Marco Island area. Hotels & Apartments lined the length of the beach & access paths were placed at regular intervals between the buildings. (a portion of the beach & parking was designated residents only)

The hotels on Jumeirah Beach certainly claim a rather large section of the beach, I think the remaining beach will be far to small for the expected population boom when the new hotels & apartments open up. Maybe they will artificially extend the beach, into the sea?

[dxbstar]

Although all the Marina is great having visited last week my feiling was that I felt happier with the TLH area than I was before. Buildings at the Jebel Ali end are smaller. Also the traffic at the Phase one end is getting terrible. Even now in can take 20 minutes queing just to get through the junction to join Sheik Zahed road by phase one, and thats not in the rush hour. During rush hour traffic created by Media City, Internet City and Knowledge City makes it even worse. One evenning there was a minor accident by phase one and it was causing 1.5 hour delays to travel 1 mile. At least the TLH end of the Marina has a partial access onto Sheik Zahed Road.

The two ends I think are preferable as both have the cut into the sea rather than the visual wall created by the JBR development. The only down side to the TLH end is proximity to the power station. There was an article in Gulf News whilst I was in Dubai saying they have awarded the contract for a very large extension to the power station and desalination plant to cope with the massive increase in demand due to all the development.

Beach access by the Marina appears likely to be poor. Although beaches are public access to them from the road is a problem. The JBR beach clubs fill in all the access ways between the Sheraton hotel and the Ritz Carlton. The beach access between the Ritz Carlton and the Royal Meridien is still sign posted as entrance for Hydropolis but I was told by hotel staff that the Hydropolis has been relocated to Jebel Ali Palm. Even if this is correct I assume something else will fill in here. There may be a small beach access between the Sheraton and the Jebel Ali end Marina access to the sea, but even if there is it will not be able to cope with demand fron the Marina.

Even the open beaches past Jebel Ali upto the Abu Dhabi border are to be developed within the next 5 to 10 years. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will have to pay for access to the beach through a hotel.

[dubai freak]

I am not sure if this image is part of the master plan; but if it is, it means the Light Rail Station will be positioned mid-way along the Marina. Unfortunately its on the other side of SZR, still not too far from TLH.

[ChrisO]

I guess we dont need to worry about the Light Rail for a few more years.

http://www.7days.ae/content/view/1930/12/

[dxbstar]

The Dubai municipality web site suggests the metro will initially only go as far as the American University with a later extension to Jebel Ali.

http://vgn.dm.gov.ae/DMEGOV/dm-metro-network

The same web site has a network plan for the metro

http://vgn.dm.gov.ae/DMEGOV/images/metro-lines-b.jpg

This seems to suggest only stations on Marina is by phase 1 or going the other way the next station is at the Ibn Battuta shopping mall.

I assume if initially the metro will not extend to the Marina the station locations are still vague.

[NADIMEZ]

hiya,

I'm looking for an apt at DM, glad you're discussing location.

If you're staying near TLH and take that exit, where's the nearest interchange to go back towards Dubai?
I was leaning more towards the DMC, i.e. Marina Heights, Marina Terrace, Phase 1 section, but is that such a hot traffic point?

cheers

[Krazy_SSC]

Hi,

We have bought in Marina Promenade's Paloma Tower. What do you guys think of the location?

[ChrisO]

I like the area. Why did you choose that tower and not one of the other 5 of that project? The financing scheme offered indicates that the market needs strong incentives for new buyers nowadays.

[Krazy_SSC]

Well we were one of the first customers on the launch day of the first tower... and we were looking to buy something in that week so we went for it since it seemed like a good deal. Decent views (half marina view and half JBR/beach view). Also the project was already under construction (11 floors were completed at the time of launch). I hope the close access to JBR mall, the beach and Marina Mall will make this one an attractive property on completion. Keeping fingers crossed at how the market is affected once JBR is completed and floods the market with apartments.

[dubai freak]

Dubai Marina Phase 1 area as viewed from The Marina Walk near Marina Terrace/Marina Tower (15/06/06)



Marina as viewed from the new bridge near The Waves (16/06/06)