Dubai: Sharjah will have 300 new parking meters by year-end, a top municipality official has confirmed to XPRESS.
According to the civic body, 150 of them have already been installed in places like Majaz 1, Majaz 3, Al Mahattah, Al Neda and Al Sour with more to come in 2015.
“We also plan to install another 100 parking meters in 2015, but this depends on how many parking lots will be constructed and delivered to the public parking department,” head of public parking at Sharjah Municipality, Ahmad Khamis Al Bardan, told XPRESS.
Finding a parking spot, paid or otherwise, is a constant struggle for motorists, but with more parking coming up, they expect the problems to ease.
Desperate need
“We desperately need a proper parking space. Our buildings don’t have enough designated parking, so we are forced to park our vehicles in undesignated spots overnight, risking not only external damage to our cars but also heavy fines.
“A proper parking lot is welcome in this overcrowded neighbourhood of ours,” said Pakistani sales officer Anis Ebrahim, 32, who lives in Al Nahda.
According to Al Bardan, the municipality studies each area thoroughly before establishing paid parking in it based on factors including the area’s population, number of shops and visitors to the area. “The municipality increases the number of parking lots in Sharjah continuously to accommodate the growing number of residents. It turns many sandy areas into paid parking, especially in the commercial areas which see parking problems at many times of the day,” added Al Bardan.
Not everyone though is happy that free parking bays are being converted into paid parking.
“We have been parking our vehicles here for free all these years, but from now on I guess we can’t do it anymore. We will have to look for alternatives,” said Indian Asgar Khan, who resides in Al Majaz.
However, cars parked in undesignated spots will continue to risk fines, warns Sharjah Municipality.
“Cars parked in sandy areas may be fined if such areas have no proper entrance, as motorists will have to drive on pavements, exposing the infrastructure to damage,” said Al Bardan.
Parking fees, as in the rest of the UAE, will be imposed six days a week from Saturday to Thursday, 10 hours a day over two shifts [morning time and evening time] starting with Dh2 for the first hour.
