UAE | Traffic and Transport

Residents complain about lack of parking in Sharjah

Motorists complain they are unable to find parking spots during the evenings and on weekends in Sharjah due to the lack of available spaces.

  • By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 20:49 March 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Residents park in an area of Al Majaz in Sharjah. Sharjah Municipality introduced a new rule last year where motorists are fined Dh200 if they park on sandy patches.
  • Image Credit: Devadasan/Gulf News

Sharjah: Motorists complain they are unable to find parking spots during the evenings and on weekends in Sharjah due to the lack of available spaces.

"There is a lack of parking spaces in many areas of Sharjah, especially Al Rolla, because there is a lot of congestion in the area and it is very popular for families to shop there on weekends," said Mohammad Gaus.

Sultan Al Mualla, Head of the Roads Department at Sharjah Municipality, said that they are currently holding talks with the Directorate of Town Planning and Survey Department to use certain land plots for parking space.

"It depends whether the Town Planning Department will give us the land so we are unable to guarantee anything at this time, but providing residents with more parking spaces is much needed in Sharjah," said Al Mualla.

"In order to combat the lack of parking spaces, all new buildings are required to provide tenants with a multi-storey car park," he said.

Residents complained that authorities need to act immediately to combat the lack of parking spaces in the city. "I can never find a parking spot on King Faisal Road, especially on Friday because everybody is at home and take up the parking spaces. There should be more available space on the main road, or designated land plots so that people from other areas can also park their cars there," said Waleed Hammam.

Walk

"Finding a parking spot in Al Rolla is an ordeal on a daily basis, and there are not enough spaces. Whenever I have to go to Al Rolla, I usually park my car far away and then walk for 15 minutes," said Vijay Kumar, noting that he would rather park on the designated spots than park on a sandy area nearby and get fined for it.

As of last year, Sharjah municipality introduced a new rule where motorists are fined Dh200 if they park on sandy patches near buildings, on sidewalks, main roads and in between buildings.

New buildings: Mandatory slots

A senior official from Sharjah Municipality said that 4,500 multi-storey car parks will soon be set up in various parts of the city to combat the lack of parking facilities. The construction will be done in phases.

In the first phase, the car parks will come up in Al Majaz, Abu Shagara, Al Qadasiya, Al Soor and Umm Tarrafa.

Sharjah Municipality is also currently combating the parking problem by making it mandatory for landlords of new residential towers to provide parking space for all their tenants.

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