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Ras Al Khor paid parking unjustified: motorists

Residents insist area is not congested; RTA says zones are expanded depending on traffic master plan and the demand for parking

Residents and workers of Ras Al Khor Road, which was recently converted into a paid parking zone by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), feel the parking fee in the suburban area is unjustified.

The area, though mainly commercial and industrial, in no way fits the RTA’s bill of a busy and congested area, where paid parking is introduced to ensure parking slots are readily available throughout the day for all motorists.

People living or working near Ras Al Khor road have suddenly found their freedom curtailed as they now have to either shell out coins to park their vehicles or run around to find free parking spaces in the internal streets or sandy patches.

“I can’t understand why they have put paid parking on Ras Al Khor road, it is an industrial area and there is not much congestion for parking problem, I don’t think it is justified to have paid parking in such a far flung area,” said Sharifuddin Ali, who works as a mechanic in an auto workshop and has to park his car in a sandy area a few hundred metres away. When asked about the criteria that are used to choose an area for paid parking, Maitha bin Adai, CEO of RTA Traffic and Roads Agency that handles Dubai’s parking issues, insisted that the paid parking zones are expanded depending on the traffic master plan and demand for parking, making it easy for motorists to find parking spaces.

When Khaleej Times visited the area, most of the parking slots in the newly converted paid parking zones were empty indicating that there is no real demand for parking.

“Earlier, transport or auto companies used these parking slot to park their vehicles or trailers, but since paid parking is introduced most of the slots are empty. The companies either park inside their premises or find a free parking on the internal roads,” said Syed Mortaza, who runs an auto workshop in Ras Al Khor.

However, Maitha insisted that all decisions taken by RTA are carried out after thorough studies and are based on demand indicated by different surveys.

She urged motorists to use the parking spaces responsibly and make payments on time to avoid fines, while requesting people to utilise the facilities like mParking to pay for parking conveniently. — shafaat@khaleejtimes.com