Parking trouble: Fee for all at Deira fish market
Parking at Deira fish market isn't free on Fridays any more. Even seasonal permits are invalid here
Dubai: Motorists who went shopping at the Deira fish market last Friday were in for a shock when they found a Dh150 parking ticket slapped on their car windscreens.
Even people with seasonal parking cards were fined.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) changed the parking policy at Dubai's biggest fish market following complaints from customers and traders about shortage of parking space.
Fine print
The fine print on the parking machines shows the new rules. It reads: From October 1, 2009, parking is no longer free on Fridays from 8am to 1pm and from 4pm to 11pm.
Traders are happy with the change. "Now, it's easier for our customers to find parking," said Mohammad Shahbaz, 33, a Pakistani fish vendor. "In the past, they [customers] simply went away when they found no space. We're getting more customers now."
"If this change in the rules helps the general public and customers who come here, it's good," said an Indian executive who got slapped with a parking ticket on October 30. "But this was not communicated properly to the public. Now I have to pay this fine, it has ruined my weekend," he added.
‘Expensive' fish
Another customer said: "This parking fine made my fish very expensive. I went for less than an hour to buy my week's supply of vegetables and fish."
Officials explained that the move was aimed at helping curb extended occupation of the parking space. The new rules nullify the seasonal cards and extend the paid-parking period from 4pm to 11pm daily.
Greater good
Melvin Guevarra, 33, a Filipino maintenance staff who looks after plumbing and electrical jobs at the market, said: "This move is for the greater good. But it becomes an expensive lesson for people who are not aware of the change."
Eng Maitha Obaid Bin Udai, CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency at the RTA, said in a statement last month that the guidelines were in response to public complaints.
"The parking problem at the fish market goes down to the high number of seasonal parking card-holders, who occupy the parking space for extended periods. Many of them are not visitors of the market," Eng Maitha stated.
