Residents of a community known for affordable living in Dubai are now being asked to pay close to Dh1,000 ($272) a month to park a second car outside their homes.
Paid parking came into effect in Discovery Gardens on Thursday. The company introducing the new parking system in the area, considered one of Dubai's less expensive communities, allows residents one free parking permit per property.
A second car will cost residents Dh945 each month to park permanently within the community boundaries. The move has been made to deal with increasing volume of vehicles in Discovery Gardens, Parkonic's website says.
Issues that led to the introduction of paid parking, the website says, include long-term vehicle storage on public roads, illegal and improper parking, difficulty for residents and visitors to find available spaces, and traffic-flow issues within the community.
The decision to bring in parking fees for a community that's associated with low-cost living is in line with a wider move to implement fees for parking in areas that usually were free of charge.
High among the reasons for this is a growing population and a widespread return for most companies to permanently working in the office, rather than remotely, meeting parking spaces were at a premium like never before.
Parkonic isn't the only parking firm operating in the emirate. In January last year, another company, Parkin introduced barrier-free parking systems at three malls in partnership with the Majid Al Futtaim Group. The systems were put in place at Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira and City Centre Mirdif under a five-year contract.
Since August, Parkin has also taken on the management of 2,100 paid parking spaces across 59 sites at Dubai mosques.
Parkin last month agreed a five-year partnership with Damac Properties to manage 3,600 paid parking spaces in its residential developments.
The deal with one of the UAE's leading real estate developers will enable Parkin to make its first inroads into the Abu Dhabi market.
Parkin was selected by the Dubai government to oversee the emirate's paid parking network in January 2024. It manages more than 200,000 spaces across Dubai.
Only last week, it was announced Parkin would oversee paid parking operations at select Spinneys and Waitrose supermarkets in the emirate as part of a major expansion drive.
