Abu Dhabi, 9th Nov. 2010 (WAM): The Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi announced the actual implementation of Mawaqif paid parking services in two new areas in Abu Dhabi starting Sunday, November 21st, following a trail implementation period, in a step towards the "Mawaqif 2010 Plan" revealed earlier this year, aiming to manage car parking facilities and spaces in Abu Dhabi.

The new areas are located in E4-01, between East Street and Airport Road, and Al Falah Street and Zayed Second Street with a total of 6309 parking bays. The second area,E4-02 is between East Street and Bani Yas Street (Also known as Al Najda) and Al Falah Street and Zayed Second street with a total of 4155 parking bays where paid parking is enforced from 8 AM to 9 PM, Saturdays to Thursdays, at a rate of 3 Dirhams per hour for Premium Parking (identified by turquoise and white curbstones) with a maximum stay of 4 hours, and 2 Dirhams per hour or 15 Dirhams per day for Standard Parking (identified by turquoise and black curbstones).

In line with other paid parking services, spaces will be free of charge during official holidays. Fines, however, will be applied to cars that are parked illegally at any time.

The implementation of "Mawaqif" services in new areas follows a specific module comprising of three phases. The first phase is a preparatory period and involves educating people in the new area about the service and providing awareness through printed brochures. A trail period is then carried out to ease people into the new service, followed by the official implementation of the paid parking, including the issuing of fines in case of violations.

Eng. Najib Al Zarooni, General Manager of Parking at the Department of Transport, said: "Mawaqif was launched by the Department of Transport in 2009 to serve the community at large in an attempt to ease the chronic parking shortages in some of Abu Dhabis most congested areas by offering parking spaces to the residents and commuters of these areas, aiming to ensure a greener, more accessible and less congested city while supporting the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision to place Abu Dhabi as one of the leading world capitals. The aims of the project also include decreasing the number of illegal parking practices among residents and encouraging carpooling in the community.

Residents in the area can apply for resident permits from the Mawaqif Customer Service Centers. Residential permits allow road users to park in any available Standard Parking bay in the area where they reside. By clearly displaying the permit on the vehicle dashboard, they will be exempt from paying hourly or daily tariffs at the parking meters. This permit is available to owners or tenants and their first of kin residing with them, such as mothers, fathers, spouses and children, in addition to brothers and sisters, with a maximum of two permits per household. Each permit is sector and vehicle specific.

The documents required to obtain the resident permit include: passport copy with valid residency visa; lease of contract or residency ownership proof; last electric bill; vehicle ownership; relationship proof for the vehicle owner if different from the tenancy contract. Annual fees for the resident permits are AED 800 for the first vehicle, AED1200 for the second vehicle. Verification and processing of resident permits takes a minimum of three working days.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.