Road Traffic Authority cracks down on illicit Dubai parking yards
In this latest transportation news from the UAE, a total of 165 violations of the new regulations were reported by official RTA inspectors, according to the state news agency WAM, leading to the 40 car parks being closed.
According to the chief executive officer of the RTA Traffic and Roads Agency, Maitha bin Adai, all of the offending operators had been granted a grace period in which to meet the new regulations. RTA inspectors closed offending parking yards “after exhausting the grace period”, he said.
The RTA says warnings and official notices have been issued. After liaison with the RTA, Dubai police are now engaged in towing vehicles which remain in the car yards which have been closed, after official violations were issued.
Under the new stipulations, all of Dubai’s car yard operators are required to install sophisticated electronic equipment for the benefit of those using their car parks. This includes easily visible monitors at the entrance of every car park openly displaying the number of car parking slots provided and also all spaces that are currently available.
Each car yard operator also has to display prominently the full particulars of the owner of the car park, as well as a complete list of the tariffs and comprehensive contact details of who runs the car yard.
Maitha bin Adai, the RTA Chief Executive said that additionally, each car yard had to link their electronic car space monitoring system to the RTA’s central system. Further stipulations require that car park attendants have to wear appropriate uniforms which bear the full name of the car yard operator for whom they work.
The RTA inspectors found that some car yards were not meeting other requirements. These include a CCTV security system monitoring the entire site. Twenty four hour lighting of every car parking site also has to be sufficient to meet regulations or face closure.
It’s not clear yet when the 40 car yards will be allowed to reopen.
