The Mawaqif parking system in Abu Dhabi should consider the following suggestions.
They could have only one charging system instead of the current fee of Dh2 for residential and Dh3 for commercial areas. Most workers from commercial establishments in residential areas occupy all the residential parking slots during the day — leaving the commercial slots virtually empty.
One example of this is a parking area in Hamdan Street, opposite a popular furniture store. This is an absolute waste of parking space.
Alternatively, residential permit holders should be allowed to park in the commercial parking slots.
Next, parking bays should be clearly marked. Drivers do not know whether vehicles are to be parked at 45 degree or 90 degree angles.
Without such clearly marked bays, the authorities should not issue fines for vehicles that are not correctly parked, as most drivers would just follow the pattern of the cars already in the parking spaces. Considering this would also save much-needed space.
At the time of launching the paid parking system in Abu Dhabi, residents were informed that the systems were being tried out and suggestions are welcome. I hope mine are considered, too.
- The reader is a finance and administration manager based in Abu Dhabi.
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