Special stickers exempting residents in certain areas from paying car park tolls will be distributed across Bahrain’s four governorates.
Parking meters have been installed to control improper occupation of car park spaces on commercial roads linked to residential neighbourhoods.
The stickers allow residents of these areas to avoid paying fees and follows a successful trial phase in Hoora and Gudaibiya last year.
This was revealed by Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf in a written response to Parliament.
“The ministry in co-operation with the Traffic Directorate will issue stickers that are placed inside the vehicle detailing the number, the address, the period and validity,” said the minister.
“This will allow traffic policemen to differentiate between residents and violators who do not pay the toll meters.
“Car parks in certain areas have been hijacked by individuals who are not residents or for other purposes, while they should be open for public usage.
“We are also working to increase available capacities through organised parking.
“A test phase in Hoora and Gudaibiya, which are busy commercial areas, has proven successful and we are now working to introduce the system across the country as stickers differentiating the four governorates have been made ready.”
The minister, who is set to appear at Parliament’s weekly session on Tuesday, also revealed that there was a total of 727,484 registered vehicles in Bahrain last year.
Vehicles
This compared with 719,718 registered vehicles in 2018.
“We have constructed 22,687 car parks from 2009 until the end of last year in Bahrain,” added Mr Khalaf.
“We bought 48 private plots of land for more than BD8 million over the decade, with the Northern Governorate being an exception.
“We are dealing with a huge surge in the number of vehicles that has reached 727,484 until the end of last year and are working to accommodate that.”
In another parliamentary response, Mr Khalaf said that 1,890 various palm tree seedlings have been created at the ministry’s genetic laboratory.
“We have also grown 876 ‘Khunaizi’ date palm trees through the lab as we increase our stock in the genetic bank,” he said.
“The ministry spends BD270,000 annually to plant 1,500 palm trees over two years across the country with one tree costing BD180.
“We also removed 15,046 red palm weevils from traps as we treated 1,419 palm trees, removed 139 and rooted out 288 seedling.”
On Tuesday he will also discuss the ministry’s progress in tackling issues related to stagnant rainwater during heavy showers.
Meanwhile, MPs are set to vote on government-drafted amendments to dissolve a judicial rents dispute panel from the 2014 Rents Law and transfer its duties to the Higher Civil Court.
If the disputed amount is less than BD1,000, the verdict is final and can’t be appealed.
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