Abu Dhabi: Despite several multi-storey car parks, many residents still struggle to find parking space, especially at night.
Mawaqif rules dictate that individuals without a ‘residential permit’ in the corresponding area cannot park in specific locations after 9pm, yet some residents end up leaving their cars in paid parking spots simply due to the lack of spaces.
An Indian stay-at-home mother of two living on the capital’s Sultan Bin Zayed the First Street, popularly known as Al Muroor road, told Gulf News: “Construction has been going on around our building for over a year and a half. This has resulted in a large loss of parking spaces in our area, yet Mawaqif officials are constantly roaming around giving fines to people. Although my husband and I have a Mawaqif residential permit, we still cannot find spots after 9pm and end up leaving our car in the underground car park, which charges Dh15 for a full day.”
Meanwhile, Abdullah Ebrahim, 30, who resides in Al Mushrif, said that some places across Abu Dhabi are easier than others in terms of finding parking spots.
“However, [the process] is very difficult if you need to shop or visit someone in areas like Madinat Zayed, Tourist Club or Khalidiyah. If I have to visit someone at night in those places, I sadly cannot take my car due to the limited spaces and the ‘residents only after 9pm policy’,” he said.
Similarly, a 60 year-old resident living in Khalidiyah area near Dana Plaza who requested not to be identified said that parking has always been in issue for him and the situation has gotten increasingly worse over the past five years or so.
“It is almost impossible to find parking here after 7pm. Renovation was recently performed on a small part near Khaleej Al Arabi Street and although the revamping was desperately needed, the new design has cut the amount of parking spots available by almost half!”
Many parts of the capital like the Khalidiyah area and the Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Street have undergone renovation, with relaid pavements and street lamps and, while residents have welcomed the new look, some found it unpractical.
“The new street designs in Khalidiyah and Hamdan Street look nice, but there are much fewer parking spots now. I understand wanting to make Abu Dhabi a more walkable city, but the fact is that most people don’t walk outdoors for half of the year due to the heat so there needs to be a balance. I waste so much time and gas looking for parking under my own building every day,” another tenant said.
