GROUND floors of new apartment buildings and future housing units could be turned into mandatory parking spaces for residents following a proposal approved by the Northern Municipal Council.
The proposal, tabled by councillor Badriya Abdulhussain, aims to prevent improper parking on sidewalks and roads blocking traffic and causing congestion, made worse by the annual increase in the number of vehicles.
She said that mandating that the ground floor be allocated for parking space will ensure no vehicles are parked on the roads or sidewalks.
The proposal was reviewed by the council’s technical committee and unanimously approved by the 12-member council during their bi-weekly meeting.
“As a municipal council we have been receiving multiple complaints and there have been fights among neighbours due to the lack of parking spaces in these residential areas,” Ms Abdulhussain told the GDN.
“It is unfortunate that some cases were even referred to the Public Prosecution due to physical fights that have broken out.
“People have been blocking parking spaces which are already scarce either by placing a large car there for months on end which is unfair.
“We can’t do anything about existing housing projects and apartment buildings but this proposal aims to have this mechanism implemented for future investment projects and housing towns.”
Ms Abdulhussain highlighted that many residents have abused their garages within their houses to set up ‘majlises’ or commercial shops while parking their vehicles on the narrow roads.
She also added that people parking on sidewalks are breaking the law, blocking the maintenance of critical services such as cables and channels as well as blocking the way for emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire brigades.
“This proposal aims to not only regulate parking by allocating specific places for the vehicles but also keeping things civil between area residents,” she added.
“Specially designated spaces for parking will also ensure the proper aesthetic of residential areas and towns and eradicate the chaos we are currently witnessing due to improper parking and the blocking of spaces.
“This will also facilitate the process for necessary maintenance of municipal services that are in the streets as there will be no vehicles blocking the paths.
“Mandating that the ground floor of the housing units be a parking space for the vehicles will also give people no excuse regarding spacing or that public parking is too far away from their homes.”
Council chairman Ahmed Al Kooheji added that many people have used sidewalks adjacent to their homes to plant trees while parking their vehicles in the streets.
He stated that this is further complicating the existing problem.
The proposal will now be referred to Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf for review.
Meanwhile, the Northern Municipal Council also approved the reclassification of more than 130 properties and plots of land across the Northern Governorate.
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