Another 3,000 parking spots added to Mawaqif pay scheme from Saturday

More than 70,000 parking spaces in the capital will be paid spots by the end of the year.

Parking will soon cost Dh2 for an hour in standard spaces and Dh3 an hour with a four-hour maximum stay in premium spots.

ABU DHABI // Another 3,000 spaces will be provided under the paid Mawaqif scheme on Saturday as the Department of Transport works towards its year-end goal of providing more than 70,000 paid parking spots in the capital.

A pay scheme for the 3,009 parking spots will begin in the area bound by 15th Street, 26th Street, Airport Road and Al Karama Street, with 288 premium spots and 2,721 standard spots.

Rates will be Dh3 an hour with a four-hour maximum at premium spots, and Dh2 an hour with a 24-hour maximum for standard parking. Paid parking will be enforced from 8am to 10pm, except on Fridays. Cars parked illegally at any time will be subject to fines.

Residents can apply for electronic parking permits at any Mawaqif customer care centre, with a maximum of two permits per household. Permit holders will be exempt from hourly fees in designated resident-only parking areas between 10pm and 8am.

Although signs declaring villa resident-only permit parking have been erected, the actual pay scheme will not be introduced until the second quarter of this year.

The first area to come under implementation is the area bound by Muroor Road and Najda Street, and Al Falah Street and Zayed the Second Street. Villa residents in this area will have 583 parking spots. Holders of villa resident permits will have 24-hour access to dedicated parking near their homes.

The Department of Transport recently announced its goal to have 71,000 parking spots under the Mawaqif scheme by the end of the year. By the end of this month, the number of paid spots available is expected to be near 40,000. Future plans also call for 10 multi-storey car parks in the capital: six conventional, two robotic and two temporary.