A call to reduce the size of public parks, walkways and gardens to make room for more parking spaces has ignited debate after it was suggested by the Southern Municipal Council.
The proposal, pushed by the council’s services and public utilities committee chairman Ali Al Shaikh, urges a nationwide re-evaluation of how open land is allocated – arguing that residents are struggling far more with parking shortages than with a lack of green spaces.
“If people want car parks – then it should be car parks,” Mr Al Shaikh said. “We must plan cities based on what residents actually need every day, not what looks good on paper.”
Mr Al Shaikh
The debate resurfaced during discussions over two properties in East Riffa that councillors want converted into car parks to ease congestion in densely-populated blocks.
Council chairman Abdulla Abdullatif described the issue as ongoing.
“Archived correspondence dating back to 2003, 2007 and 2013 shows repeated requests by councillors to reallocate small ‘rest areas’ and open plots in East Riffa housing blocks into parking spaces,” he said. “Over the years, responses from multiple ministries have reflected a balancing act between preserving green areas and meeting residents’ parking needs.”
Mr Abdullatif said the council wants ministries – including Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Planning, and Works – to jointly review current and future community park designs with car parking needs in mind.
Mr Abdullatif
“Urban planning must evolve with reality. When neighbourhoods were first designed, car ownership was much lower. Today, most homes have two or three vehicles.”
Housing and Urban Planning Minister Amna Al Romaihi said approvals were granted to create limited parking – 10 to 18 spaces – while maintaining landscaping and tree coverage.
Ms Al Romaihi
More recently, she confirmed, after a site visit in 2023, that 17 parking spaces would be created in one location in East Riffa while preserving the designated green patch.
Mr Al Shaikh claims the ‘piecemeal approach’ is no longer enough.
“For 20 years we have been solving parking shortages one plot at a time,” he said. “What we need now is a policy review, I believe. How much green space is actually being used? And how much of it could be repurposed to solve a daily problem for thousands of families?”
He stressed that the proposal does not call for removing major parks but for reassessing small, underused landscaped pockets, walkways and buffer zones inside residential blocks.
“In many areas, cars are parked on pavements, in front of homes and across entrances because there is simply nowhere else to go,” he added.
The council believes a national reassessment could ease congestion, improve safety and reduce illegal parking – without significantly affecting Bahrain’s overall green footprint.
“This is not parks versus people,” said Mr Al Shaikh. “This is about planning an adequate number of parking spaces that serve the people who actually live in these congested areas.”
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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