More paid parking zones launched in Dubai’s Al Barsha

New parking signs put up at Al Barsha villa area in Dubai.-Photo by Juidin Bernarrd

Residents who used to enjoy free parking on a couple of inner roads in the villa area in Al Barsha now have to cough up at least Dh2 per hour to park their cars.
It is now paid parking for the entire stretch of the 21^st and 23^rd streets at Community 373 in Al Barsha 1. All parking slots in the area have been designated under 'Zone C', which means motorists will have to pay Dh2 for one hour of parking; Dh5 for two consecutive hours of parking; Dh8 for three hours and Dh11 for four straight hours of parking.
Paid parking hours are from 8am until 10pm, from Saturday to Thursday, but free on Fridays and public holidays.
Filipino expat and Al Barsha resident Sharon Magdalo said: "This (parking fee) will be an additional expense for us. We come from work at 6pm and this means we need to pay at least Dh11 daily or around Dh275 every month. This is equivalent to almost half of our monthly budget for petrol."
"We just need to look for other areas where we can at least park for free," said another Al Barsha resident.
Residents in the villas, however, welcomed the move to implement parking fees. Indian expat Sulfikar said: "Before, our streets were full of cars and sometimes they even blocked my gate. Now, at least there are only a few cars on our street."
He added that people who park their cars on their street are not living in the area but at residential buildings across their neighbourhood.
"They used to park their cars here because this was free; now many of them are gone," Sulfikar noted.
According to the Roads and Transport Authority, failure to purchase a parking ticket will result in a fine of Dh150 and fine for overstaying on purchased ticket is Dh100.
angel@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai