Faulty parking metres put motorists in a spot
Manama : Parking meters installed on a number of streets in the Capital area have become non-functional, forcing motorists to cough up hefty fines.
“Parking meters are non-functional and for no reason we are being ticketed for it. We insert the money but still get ticketed. This is really upsetting. We are paying hefty fines for no fault of ours,” said an irate motorist who recently paid fine in spite of inserting the required fees.
“Parking meters at the Yateem Center area, near the Zamil Tower and near Bab Al Bahrain aren’t working for the past three to four days. These are some of the busiest areas. With parking meters not working motorists are slapped hefty fines, which is not acceptable. Furthermore, the three parking meter machines near the Zamil Tower are always out of order. I request the authorities to take immediate action to ease our trouble,” said another motorist.
Free parking
The Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning issued a statement yesterday saying that it would provide free parking in areas close to residences.
“Parking meters have been installed on a number of commercial roads, upon a decree issued by the Supreme Council for Traffic. The Ministry, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and Municipal Councils, restricts the number of houses overlooking commercial roads in order to provide parking licenses in a number of parking areas for free,” it said.
“The Ministry has installed the parking meters to limit the wrong use of parking spaces by a certain group all day long, increase the capacity of parking spaces and organize parking on roads. Following the allocation of parking spaces along a number of commercial roads near residential areas, lack of parking and double parking has ceased to exist,” it said.
“Due to the growing urban development Bahrain is witnessing, the population has risen tremendously. As a result, the number of registered vehicles has also increased and so has the demand for parking spaces. The Ministry has conducted surveys and traffic studies; taking into account municipal councils’ demands for parking spaces in all Governorates, close to mosques, Ma’atams, and schools. Parking spaces are constructed on the sides of the roads or as part of government lands’ courtyards dedicated for this purpose. The Ministry also takes ownership of some lands as per the need to expand the road and construct parking spaces, in coordination with services directorates and the concerned parties,” the Ministry added.
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