UAE | Traffic and Transport
Motorists park cars in middle of road in Tourist Club Area
Residents in the Tourist Club Area (TCA) of the capital have been waking up to a surprise parking violation on the main road for the past week. Several cars have been parked in the middle of the main road and nobody moves them until at least 9am, they said.
- By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:35 January 4, 2009
- Vehicles parked in the middle of a road near the Capital Hotel in Abu Dhabi early in the morning.
- Image Credit: Ahmad Kutty/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: Residents in the Tourist Club Area (TCA) of the capital have been waking up to a surprise parking violation on the main road for the past week. Several cars have been parked in the middle of the main road and nobody moves them until at least 9am, they said.
"I have never seen such a dangerous practice in my 15 years of life in Abu Dhabi," said Osama Mursi, an Egyptian who runs a cargo business in the area.
"A severe shortage of parking space in the area has been compelling residents to find parking space by hook or by crook, but this is quite strange."
A motorist said the cars parked in the middle of the main road confused him while driving in the morning.
"Somehow I managed to negotiate the road," said P.C. Ummer.
Confusion
He said such confusion could cause serious accidents.
"Even if people park in the wrong place due to the shortage of space, they can remove their cars early in the morning."
"it is surprising that they don't mind leaving their cars on the main road," said Ummer. Another resident said he had seen people arguing with police when they issued fines for illegal parking.
"They ask the police to help them find a parking space and the police find it difficult to answer because of the severe shortage of parking spaces," said Jayaprasad Parameshwaran.
"I have seen several cars parked in generally prohibited areas with yellow marks. But, I was taken aback to find the parked cars in the middle of the road," he said.
"I think the diversion of Salam Street as part of its upgrading project has minimised the already scarce parking space," said Param-eswaran.
A senior Traffic Police official told Gulf News strict action would be taken against illegal parking.
Meanwhile businessmen said they have started to lose customers because of the parking problem.
"People park their cars in front of the shop, blocking the movement of our trucks and pickups," said Mursi.
"To avoid such blockages our vehicles are parked far away from the shop, which causes much inconvenience and loss," he added.
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