Dubai: International City residents with private vehicles are fed up of fighting for parking spaces with commercial vehicles like minibuses, pick-ups, trailers, and coasters that they end up parking on pavements risking fines and potential damage to their cars.
Residents said many drivers of commercial vehicles continue to flout rules in International City, particularly in the Greece, Morocco, and Persia clusters. Street signs prohibiting commercial vehicles from being parked in residential parking spaces were put up about two years ago to address the persisting problem.
Gulf News spotted two petrol tankers with huge “Danger” sign on its body, coasters, and trucks parked near the area on a random survey.
“The residential parking spaces are always full especially when you come home late from work. Supposedly these vehicles are prohibited from parking here, but since they always park in our space, we end up parking on the shoulder and risk getting fined by police or getting our cars damaged by oncoming traffic,” a Filipino resident, who declined to be named, told Gulf News.
“There was one time when police caught me parking on the shoulder. I almost got fined but then I had to defend myself because I had no choice but to park there,” she added.
Aneeta Bashani, a Pakistani resident from the Greece cluster, said she has never been lucky when it comes to finding parking near her area.
“I always never find parking. I always park the car on the footpath. If you go home during the day, you will find one. But if you go home after 9pm, 8pm, you will not,” Bashani said.
When contacted by Gulf News, International City developer Nakheel said in a statement: “We are aware of this issue and have raised it with the appropriate authorities for appropriate action.”
International City, a country-themed development located off the Al Warsan area, is home to many middle-class families who opt to live out of the busy residential areas of the city centre.
Residents said the relatively low rents in International City have attracted many bachelors to live in the area as well, particularly in the Greece, Morocco, and Persia clusters.
“The main problem is living in the Greece and Persia area is they are all bachelors, and bachelors means they are truck drivers, labours, and people living mostly in sharing. And if there’s one apartment with 10 drivers, then you’ll have 10 trucks, school buses, pick-ups,” Jawaid Zoha, general manager of White Sand Real Estate located in International City, said.
An official from Dubai Police Traffic Department said they will dispatch police patrols in the area to penalise violators. Drivers who park in prohibited places will be fined Dh200 and given two black points.
