Dubai: Residents and office-goers in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) say they have to battle for parking space every day as the slots allotted to them are taken by others.
Developed by Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), JLT has different types of parking bays — parking garages directly under the towers, DMCC-owned parking garages on the upper concourse level, three basement parking levels in every cluster; overflow parking areas and on-street parking outside clusters.
Residents have been given numbered parking slots, yet many park wherever they want.
“Every day, I find someone else’s car parked in my slot so I am forced to park in someone else’s space. DMCC must either ensure residents adhere to rules or tell them they are free topark wherever they want,” said Sunita Tekchandani who owns three office units in JBC 2 tower.
Hard lesson
Tareq Abdulla, another JBC 2 resident and owner of four office units in the building, said: “The other day a man parked in my spot and I double-parked behind his vehicle to teach him a lesson. I left a note with my address on my car. Shortly afterwards, the man stormed into my office shouting at the top of his voice.”
Abdulla said he once called the police after he found another car occupying his parking slot. “The police refused to interfere saying it was an internal issue,” he said.
The problem exists in other buildings too. In Cluster V, for example, a visitor had to wait 40 minutes to find parking. “I missed my appointment and almost wanted to cancel my meeting,” he said angrily.
A DMCC spokesperson said: “We are constantly reviewing the needs of those working, living and visiting JLT. The parking solutions across the development have been designed in line with international guidelines to accommodate the demands of each cluster. Tower developers then purchased spaces to accommodate anticipated tenant needs. The use of parking spaces is dependent on agreements between tower developers, owners and tenants.”
