Dubai: Assigned parking spaces are being increasingly hijacked by unauthorised motorists, residents across Dubai’s new communities said.
However, authorities and community managements said proper owners of the spaces can take legal action to keep intruders at bay.
While many residential buildings provide assigned parking spots for residents living in each apartment, the rules of parking are still being broken by other residents and visitors.
What may seem like a minor issue has become a daily frustration for residents, who have tried different methods to resolve the issue but still feel helpless.
Jordanian Khalid G., a resident in Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), said he often faces this issue and has left many handwritten notices on the cars’ windshields hoping to resolve the problem amicably.
“I come back from work late at night," said Khalid, "and look forward to being home and see a car parked in my spot. In this situation, you have two options; either park in someone else’s spot and leave a note with your number or leave the car park and find a space outside to park your car under the sun,” he said.
Moving to JVC over six months ago, Khalid said he has not been able to resolve the recurring issue as different cars park in his spot almost every day.
“The problem is that the parking gate is open to all cars, so people drive in and park anywhere,” said Khalid said.
Similarly, Mohammad K., an Arab, said he faced the same parking issue for months after he first moved into an apartment in Queue Point. “My wife and I have two assigned parking spots, and we often found the same two cars parking in our space at different times of the day,” Mohammad said.
Leaving a note with his apartment number and clarifying that the spot is a private parking space did not stop Mohammad’s neighbours from parking in it.
“I even bought a cone and placed it in the middle of my parking spot, but that was moved as well, and my spot was used,” he said.
Mohammad finally resolved the problem by raising the issue with the building’s security. He pointed out that the management has recently placed signs with the apartment number on each parking space, and is planning to introduce remote control for the parking gate. “I think this will help regulate the parking spaces and, hopefully, solve the problem for good,” said Mohammad.
Kuwaiti Sarah Khalid, 28, another resident at Queue Point, said she has been facing the same issue for over four months. Heading out to run errands or taking a quick trip to the supermarket is all the time it takes for a visitor at the building to park in her spot, said Sarah. “We can’t wait until the remote control barriers are installed to prevent visitors from taking our parking spots.”
Sarah explained that while neighbours have come to an understanding not to park in each other’s spots, visitors are still parking where they please despite the clear ‘no parking’ signs.
Take action
While many other Dubai residents continue to deal with their parking woes in their community on their own, there may be an easier way to resolve the issue.
A community management office in New Dubai confirmed that residents should inform the building’s security, who will make a note of the violation and place a violation notice on the offending car’s windscreen.
Security will try and reach the owner of the car who has parked in the wrong place and request them to remove it, said a community manager, who chose to remain anonymous.
If it continues to be an issue, security should also inform the community management office in their area of the repeated violation. The office will then communicate with the owner of the apartment to resolve the issue or impose a fine.
“If the issue persists then the resident may call the police to assist,” said the community manager.
Similarly, Dubai Police advises residents to take up their complaint with the building’s security and management before contacting the police.
