Sharjah adds 2,440 paid parking slots as it shuts 53 'free' yards

A total of 2,440 new parking spaces in Sharjah have been converted into paid slots to provide residents and visitors with parking services, the municipality has announced – in order to cope with the population boom the emirate is currently witnessing.

Hamed Al Qaed, Director of the Public Parking Department in Sharjah Municipality, said that the authority is working in line with its annual plans to expand public parking spaces and to subject them to fees in all areas.

He confirmed that 57,000 spaces in Sharjah are currently allocated for public parking, all of which are being monitored by inspection teams to ensure that they are not being misused. The inspectors will issue fines for violations such as parking without paying the required fees, or for occupying more than one parking spot at a time.

Al Qaed pointed out that the municipality also has 53 empty sandy yards in a number of areas where there are already sufficient parking spaces. These unnecessary lots are distorting the general appearance of parking spots, he adds. "No yard is closed until after [we make] sure that there are a sufficient number of regular parking spaces, such as paid public parking."

The municipality is distributing warning stickers to vehicles in those yards, stating that they must move within three days in preparation for the closing of the yard.

He explained that these yards distort the general views of the surrounding areas and attract negative practices such as random parking, vehicles closing in on one another, which hinders ease of moving in and out.

Top officials urge the public to maintain the cleanliness of their vehicles and to park them in regular parking spaces in an appropriate manner. The public is also being requested not to misuse parking spaces to allow other motorists to benefit from them as much as possible.

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• Sharjah