Dubai: Aggrieved over their community being made into a paid parking zone, residents of Dubai’s Al Khail Gate have sought exemptions from the proposed payment plan.
Following a partnership agreement with the property management, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) on Wednesday announced the parking tariff for the residential community in Al Quoz from the second quarter of the year.
Residents and visitors will have to pay Dh4 per hour, 24x7 with a maximum of Dh32 per day for parking in the gated community developed by Dubai Properties.
Speaking to Gulf News on Thursday, residents said some of them had met with the property management and requested for allotting one free parking for each apartment. Since most families have two cars, they have also requested to give one seasonal permit per apartment.
Tenants who met the property management team said they were told that their suggestions will be looked into. However, Gulf News could not immediately get an official confirmation in this regard. Some residents also suggested building a multi-storey car parking exclusively for residents and also cracking down on vehicles of outsiders misusing the community’s parking spaces.
Another suggestion aired by some residents is to deduct the parking amount from the rents they have already paid. Some other tenants said they should be exempted from paid parking from 10pm to 8am and on Fridays like in other parts of Dubai.
Permit restrictions
Residents said they were informed by the RTA call centre that the seasonal permits promised for residents also will have restrictions.
“The call centre says only one seasonal permit will be issued to apartments with up to two bedrooms. Two permits will be given to those having three-bedroom apartments which are very few in the community,” said one of the tenants.
In this scenario, residents said a couple living in a one- or two-bedroom apartment and having two cars will have to cough up more than Dh14,000 per year for parking their cars in the community.
“Even if I or my wife get an annual permit for Dh2,500, the other person cannot get it. We will have to pay Dh32 per day for 365 days for the second car! How can one expect middle-income families like us to pay Dh14,180 for parking? This is not even a prime property to charge so much from the residents,” he reasoned.
Residents said most of them having two cars will be forced to move out of the community if they are not getting one free parking and at least one seasonal permit.
“Anyway rents are coming down elsewhere in Dubai. So, I am planning to move out when my time for tenancy contract renewal comes up in November,” said one tenant.
