DUBAI // A plan to introduce parking meters in a leafy community in Dubai has met with resistance from residents.
Tenants and owners living in The Greens have signed a petition calling for developer Emaar to exempt residents from the new paid parking rules.
The first news many had of the scheme was a solitary signboard erected on a side street last weekend.
“It’s going to be a nightmare for so many people,” said one resident.
Another resident, Nitin Chaudhry, from India, complained: “I’ve just bought a property in The Greens and I wasn’t told about any of these plans. There should have been some sort of communication or warning, but the signs just suddenly appeared.”
Since the first sign appeared, another post has also been erected at the entrance to the community.
It is still not clear when the parking scheme will be implemented, or which areas will be affected.
The community has hundreds of public parking spaces on streets and in front of compounds.
In addition, there is covered, gated parking for residents. Normally, however, only one space is allocated for a one or two-bedroom apartment.
Families who have two cars, therefore, are faced with having to park one vehicle on the street.
By charging for street parking, it means an extra tax on people who live in the community, a resident said. “I don’t find it fair. Not only do I have only one parking space for my two-bedroom apartment, but I even have to pay to park on the street,” the resident said.
“It’s due to a lack of planning by Emaar, and now the residents are having to pay for it.”
The parking meters will operate on weekdays from 8am to 1pm and from 4pm to 9pm. It will cost Dh2 per hour for parking.
A resident said she would have to pay for five hours a day, at a cost of about Dh200 per month. “It’s not much, but it is an extra expense that could be avoided,” she said.
The Greens is also home to an office business park, as well as various retail and restaurant businesses.
A resident said that because companies did not provide enough parking for employees, staff would have to find parking in residential areas of the community.
If Emaar was aiming to target those individuals, the resident said, it should arrange some sort of exemption, like a badge-holder scheme, for residents.
Despite several requests for clarification, Emaar this week declined to comment on how the scheme would be introduced, or when.
The Roads and Transport Authority, which is responsible for parking meters across the city, was not available for comment.
Nearly 50 residents of The Greens have signed an online petition to keep the community with free parking.
One UK resident, who declined to be named, said it was unfair that The Greens residents should pay for street parking when other Emaar communities, such as The Springs and The Meadows, had free street parking.
“If the purpose of the paid parking system is to stop non-residents from parking on the streets then the solution is very simple, either gate off the entire Greens community like all other Emaar communities are gated off, or issue all residents with parking permits so that they can continue to park on the street without being charged,” she said.
“It is not fair to charge residents to park in their own residential area.”
Those wishing to sign the petition should visit www.ipetitions.com/petition/free-street-parking-for-greens-residents.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
This article has been modified since its original publication.