Dubai: Residents will be able to enjoy free parking during the holiday weekend to mark Commemoration Day and the 49th UAE National Day.
Dubai
On Sunday, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai announced that all public parking areas in Dubai, except for multi-level parking terminals, will be free of charge during the UAE National Day holiday, which will run from December 1 to December 3, 2020.
The RTA also released the timings of public transportation means and its service centres for the UAE National Day holidays. The authority had also announced free parking at all paid zones throughout the holiday.
Dubai Metro’s Red Line will run from 5 am to 1 am (the following day), and the Green Line will run from 5.30 am to 1 am (the following day). The Dubai Tram will run from 6am to 1am. Service centres, as well as Customer Happiness Centres, will be closed from Tuesday, December 1, to Thursday, December 3. They will resume from Saturday, December 5.
Sharjah
Sharjah Municipality announced that public parking in the city will be free of charge from Tuesday, December 1 until Thursday December 3. The paid parking system will resume on Saturday, December 5.
Ali Ahmed Abu Ghazien, Director of Public Parking Department at Sharjah Municiplaity, pointed out that parking inspectors will continue to monitor parking lots to detect any misuse of the parking spaces, such as double or wrong parking, among other violations.
“This decision excludes the parking zones that are subject to parking fees on all days of the week including Fridays and public holidays,” he said. The paid parking zones can be easily identified by the blue signboards, indicating that the area is subject to fees on all days of the week from 8 am until 10 pm.
Abu Ghazin pointed out that the paid parking zones are essential in order to provide available spots for residents and visitors, especially in vital and tourist areas, and to spare them the trouble of searching for a parking while going to their various destinations.
“Parking inspectors will also ensure that motorists do not violate traffic rules during the holiday, such as double parking and other violations, in order to make the parking spaces available to all residents and visitors.”
Abu Dhabi
Public parking in Abu Dhabi will be free during the upcoming Commemoration Day and National Day break, announced the Department of Municipalities and Transport Integrated Transport Centre (ITC).
The free parking period will start from 12am on Tuesday, December 1, and continue until 7.59 am on Saturday, December 5. The public transport regulator called upon motorists to abide by traffic regulations during the period, and to avoid blocking traffic flow. They must also adhere to the residential parking regulations between 9 pm and 8 am every day.
Parking fines
There are more than 200 traffic fines in the UAE. Motorists should be aware of these police fines related to parking:
- Parking in restricted areas dedicated to civil defence, ambulances and vehicles for people of determination: Dh1,000, 4 black points
- Parking in a restricted area: Dh200, 2 black points
- Parking the vehicle on a pedestrian crossing: Dh100 fine
- Parking the vehicle without abiding by the standard distance: Dh100 fine
- Parking the vehicle in a way that poses a danger to passengers: Dh100 fine
- Parking in a way that hinders pedestrian movement: Dh100 fine
