Dubai
No availability of parking spaces and overcrowded buildings are the biggest concerns in Dubai’s International City. I have seen some notices regarding the issue from the developers at the various buildings’ notice boards, but no improvement is visible.
It is well known, through many news reports, that there are a lot of single men and workers staying in these buildings. I’m not against renting apartments to them. However, most apartments are being shared by more than four people. This is a security risk.
Additionally, many parking spaces are occupied by export or abandoned vehicles. It seems some individuals and car rental companies use the parking spaces in the area as a safe storage place for their unused vehicles. Because of this, very less parking spaces are available for residents. If a resident arrives from work after 8pm, it’s nearly impossible to find a parking space.
If a resident has to work overtime and reaches late, then he or she is left with no other option but to park in open spaces or on the side of the roads, which eventually leads to a fine by the authorities.
Apart from this we can’t use our own vehicles for night hospital visits or shopping as the parking spaces will not be available when we get back. I request the developers and authorities to take necessary action to free up the parking spaces or allot permanent parking spaces for each apartment.
— The reader is based in Dubai.
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FACTBOX
According to a Gulf News report published in May 2016, a Nakheel spokesperson was quoted as saying: “Nakheel is working on a number of proposals to address the parking challenges at International City. There are currently 22,250 parking bays at the community, including 250 newly created spaces, with more spaces being planned. In addition, we continue to work with the authorities on further solutions.”
