Abu Dhabi: Residents have been urged to adhere to parking regulations as a new system to electronically monitor parking bays is implemented across the capital.
The Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport’s Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) announced that cameras will monitor parking bays, and violation tickets will be issued electronically.
In the first phase, the cameras will be installed across sections of Musaffah, Mohammad Bin Zayed City and downtown Abu Dhabi.
Mohammad Al Muhairi, deputy general manager at the ITC, said the new method will allow for parking compliance to be monitored over wider areas in an efficient manner. It will also do away with the need to deploy parking inspectors in varying climate conditions, including the sweltering summer heat, in order to ensure that motorists adhere to parking regulations, he added.
Public parking in most areas of the capital has been paid since late 2009, with motorists having to pay Dh2 per hour for a standard parking spot between 8 AM and midnight, and Dh3 per hour up to 4 hours in a premium parking bay. Motorists have also been allowed to park near their residences without any additional payments, other than a yearly fee of Dh800 for the first car and Dh1,200 for the second car per household.
Adherence to these regulations has so far been monitored by inspectors, who can clearly be distinguished by their turquoise vests as they patrol neighbourhoods in the city and place violation slips on car windshields. But the new system will be far less visible, with fines issued electronically to motorists.
