Friday, Jul 25, 2008
Gulf News
Is there light at the end of the parking-congestion tunnel? Dubai is well known for its traffic congestion but having struggled through the busy roads of the city, in some cases drivers then face an even greater challenge; that of finding somewhere to park. Whether you are trying to find parking to attend a meeting in one of the business districts or you are looking for a space to park the car overnight after a hard day at the office, finding a space to park is becoming increasingly frustrating.
In Dubai, it is too hot to walk anywhere in the summer, and with a lack of public transport currently available, drivers have little alternative than to use their cars. Buildings are being constructed at alarming rates and are generally planned with a minimum parking requirement, which is usually insufficient to service all occupants and visitors of the building. For example, a commercial unit may accommodate six to eight people but only one parking bay is allocated. Similarly, for a residential unit with two bedrooms, where there is likely to be a minimum of two car users, only one parking bay is allocated.
Furthermore, retail areas have limited parking allocations and in some centres, the entertainment and restaurant facilities require even more parking. What about visitors parking? It appears that very few buildings allow for any visitors parking too.
The biggest problem with conventional concrete parking areas is that they utilise a lot of space, which is at a premium in Dubai. Parking is generally expensive to construct, especially as the return on a parking space investment is a lot less than what a developer can gain as a return from commercial and residential spaces.
Due to the lack of space and for obvious climatic reasons, open parking is not really an option.
So what is the solution? Or is the parking problem in Dubai here to stay?
Well, mechanical parking is a viable alternative because it utilises less land. Mechanical parking bays are a space saving concept which greatly increases the number of bays in a smaller space required.
Technology
How does a mechanical parking bay work? They have adapted the technology used from automated warehouses. The facility uses a computerised network of rails and pallets that handles the cars with no human intervention. The driver basically pulls into a parking bay, gets out and the car is then lifted on a steel pallet and moved to an available slot. On retrieval the car is brought back with its front facing the street for an easy exit.
From a cost point of view, mechanical parking is very expensive and not cost-effective, more so than conventional parking areas. Again, from the developer's point of view, parking space is less profitable than if that space was used as retail or commercial space.
So are the days of setting your feet inside a parking garage gone? The solution is also considered a green initiative, as the car fumes usually spent searching for a parking bay are done away with.
The completion of the public transport system, which includes a new bus system and the metro, may alleviate the parking congestion currently being experienced in the city. But at the end of the day people in Dubai have cars, and a number of them, so they need a place to keep them, either at their residence of at their place of work. A parking solution is needed and maybe mechanical parking is the key.
The writer is managing director of Better Homes.
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
