Abu Dhabi: Residents living in the area enclosed by Hazza Bin Zayed Street, Shaikh Zayed Street, Al Muroor Road and Delma Street will now be subject to Mawaqif tariffs from Monday, the Department of Transport (DoT) announced.
Also home to a number of Abu Dhabi’s most well-known chocolate stores, the sector, also known as E19-02, will see 2,831 parking spaces and shop owners are welcoming the change.
“Visitors usually experienced difficulty finding a parking space. Now customers will be able to easily find parking spots, make their purchases and be on their way. This will cause less congestion in our area and will hopefully be better for business,” said Mo’een Al Katheer, a store manager in the vicinity.
Echoing Al Katheer’s views, an administrative worker at a popular mobile store on Hazza Bin Zayed Street (commonly known as Defence Road), told Gulf News that this will encourage motorists to park for shorter hours creating a bigger turn over.
“Many drivers previously could not find an empty parking space. This prompted them to park at the end of the road causing many of them to sometimes leave the area entirely. Meanwhile, many non-Defence Road residents left their vehicles in the nearby parking for hours and I believe that these new rules will make this phenomenon less prevalent,” said Mohannad Al Barm, a Syrian employee at a popular mobile phone store.
Parking will be paid from 8am to midnight, from Saturday to Thursday. The charges will be Dh2 per hour or Dh15 per day for standard parking (curbstones painted in turquoise and black).
Parking is free on official holidays. However, cars parked illegally, as per the DoT’s guidelines, will be fined. Mawaqif users are encouraged to observe timings, rules and regulations posted on the signs at each Mawaqif sector. The signs also display general information and instructions about Mawaqif. The DoT calls on the public to avoid parking their cars in parking slots designated for residents.
