Why are we being punished?
I live with my family in the Italy cluster and every evening when I come back from work, there is no parking available (“International City parking woes persist”, Gulf News, August 16). So, after driving around for half an hour, I have no other option but to park on the roadside. Once, I came across an officer in the area and willingly asked him to give me a fine, so that I could go home and sleep, or else I would have to stay out in my car through the night. According to the officer, Nakheel has requested them to give fines in order to overcome the issue of overcrowding in the buildings. But, can Nakheel explain to the residents why we are being punished for it after paying high annual rents?
From Mr Tauqeer Ahmed Mashwani
Dubai
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The situation is worse
I read the report about the parking issues in International City and what is mentioned is not the entire truth. The situation is even worse as the report doesn’t mention the commercial vehicles, including vans and trucks that are parked in huge numbers in the area. As compared to the number of apartment units in the area, there are enough parking spots. But, these spots are covered by commercial vehicles. At night, it is a headache to find parking. I don’t understand why there are no designated parking spots for legitimate owners or tenants. Sharing apartments and rooms is being encouraged, even though it is against the law. Residents of one apartment then use up to five parking slots. I have to sometimes park far away and walk due to lack of parking spaces. Nakheel needs to work towards allotting designated parking spots to the residents.
From Mr Faisal Tirmazy
Dubai
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Afraid to go out
It is very painful to find parking slots, especially at night. I am afraid to go out after 7pm, because I know that if I take my car out, I wont find parking again. A few days ago, I went to the supermarket and then it took me one hour to find parking again. Around 60 per cent of the parking spaces are occupied by commercial vehicles, including big trucks, pick up trucks and others. I got a fine of Dh210 last month. Why can’t the authorities fine those commercial vehicles as it is illegal for them to park in International City? It is very sad that Nakheel isn’t doing anything.
From Ms Anjum Nawab
Dubai
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Cannot walk with heavy things
Since long, parking has been a big issue in Dubai and Sharjah. This should be sorted immediately by the authorities. Driving through such heavy traffic every day and then reaching home to find no parking is depressing, especially if you have stuff to carry home and you find parking far from your building. I find it hard to carry heavy things and walk so far. I end up parking my vehicle near my building and switching on the hazard lights, just so I can drop things off at home and then find a parking spot. The rental car stores occupy so much space in the area with their vehicles. Residents are also not behaving in an ethical manner while parking cars. In Sharjah, where one parking is allocated to one apartment, they are occupying three or four parking spaces, whether it is a villa or apartment. I have seen people making money out of this situation, by creating private parking spaces and charging for them. Some people occupy a lot of space by parking three or four cars permanently at the parking nearest to their home. Authorities should notice if any car is parked in a certain spot for too long and tow it away.
From Ms Almas
Dubai
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What do we do?
I used to spend two to three hours looking for parking in International City. But, most of the time, I wouldn’t find a spot and had to park on the side of the road and receivee fines. If the authorities know that there are parking issues, why do they fine the residents? Even though we park our cars incorrectly, we ensure that we do not block the flow of traffic. We never block any other parked cars, either. Regardless of that, we are still fined. What do we do?
From Mr Imran Khan
Dubai
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Parking permits for residents
I paid more than Dh1,600 in parking fines last year in International City. If I don’t find a parking spot when I return home at night, am I supposed to call the developer to arrange for one? And the officers in the area say they are just doing their job when they fine us. The only solution is to publish parking permits for residents and have a system for visitors to allow them to park their cars for not more than three or four hours. Transport companies and car rental business should not be allowed in the community where the residents are already suffering enough.
From Mr Mohammad Yasir Aleem
Dubai
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Other side of the coin
I own a car rental business located in International City and live in the area, too. I understand the issue that people are facing and we are in the same boat. I am not taking sides or speaking in favour of car rentals. To be honest, parking is an issue for everyone living here, especially at night. But, you can’t only blame the car rental stores. They are not even getting their licences renewed; Nakheel decided to ask us to leave at the end of our term. I am against limousine and bus rental companies. The reason is that these vehicles take a lot of space, and we see buses, mini vans and stretch limousines parked in the lot taking up whatever space is available. No car rental company wants its cars parked outside for show off. If they aren’t rented out, how will we earn our bread and butter? So if someone sees a rental car, it could be rented by a customer that is living in the area. If there are 10 people living in an apartment, and if even half of them have a car each, how could you find parking space? There are shisha cafes in the area, too, and during the evening they are packed and the customers park haphazardly and block other vehicles. Where there are people one needs restaurants, laundries and grocery stores thus customers use up more parking spaces for that.
From Mr Fouad Akram
Dubai
Large number of fines
I have spent Dh3,000 on parking fines in International City. If you reach home after 8pm, it is impossible to find a spot.
From Ms Tanyusha Ivanov
Dubai
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Reserved parking for residents
All the residents of this area are facing the same issue. There is a shisha cafe in our building and every night more then 40 cars are parked outside till midnight. The customers park their vehicles wherever they want. And because of them, we have to park on the curves or on the pavement and receive fines. I request the related departments to kindly take some action or please provide reserved parking spots for residents at least.
From Mr Mir
Dubai
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Rental cars take up space
I live in the Russia Cluster of International City. It is annoying that you can’t find a spot to park your car and then you are getting fined for it, too. I just received a fine last week. Most people don’t even block the road or anyone else’s vehicle. The biggest issue I face is that there are a lot of vehicles from car rental companies, with either export number plates or no plates at all, that are parked in the area. The officers visit the area at midnight to issue parking fines, but they don’t see the vehicles without number plates parked inside? Is there no rule for such vehicles?
From Mr Mohsin
Dubai
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Be considerate towards us
I live in International City’s Persia Cluster, where after 6pm there are hardly any parking spots available. It is a stressful situation for the residents. I have received fines regularly, despite the fact that my parked car was not a hurdle for any other. I think the authorities should be considerate towards the residents of this area.
From Mr Zahid Bin Aish
Dubai
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Moved away due to parking issues
I used to live in International City and got fined twice, but there were no parking spots available. My friends would ask me to park near their home in the Mirdif area of Dubai and they would then offer to drive me home. That’s how bad the situation was! I then moved to Dubai Silicon Oasis and thankfully the parking situation is better here.
From Ms Hazel Ali Hayek
Dubai
Facebook comment
No parking at night
No one is ready to come forward and help. There are signboards in the area stating that trucks are not allowed to park there, yet one can find trucks parked around the entire area. Secondly, because of the cafes and shisha joints in this area, customers park their cars and sometimes don’t leave till 3am. That is when we, the residents, are unable to find parking. You can also spot so many cars that are dirty and obviously abandoned for months that occupy precious parking spaces. If you reach home by 9pm, you may get lucky and find a spot, but after that it gets full. How can we lead a normal life with a fear of getting parking tickets? I have already raked up to Dh600 for wrong parking. Someone please intervene and help us.
From Mr R. D.
Dubai
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We are not obstructing traffic
I usually meet my friends after work and I get fined every other day, which is so frustrating as I see cars parked in our parking space that come from other clusters where they are probably facing a parking issue. I think that if the authorities cannot arrange additional parking spaces then they should at least stop the officers from imposing fines on cars that are parked in a manner where they are not on the main road and are not obstructing traffic. We are all receiving fines for “traffic obstruction”, which isn’t fair.
From Mr Abdul Baseer
Dubai
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Nothing is going to change
I don’t understand the logic behind fining motorists to solve parking issues. Those who have cars would park in the community. They cannot park anywhere else. And it seems like nothing is going to change.
From Mr Afnan Aftab Motiwala
Dubai
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