RTA begins 7th phase of Parking Control System project in Dubai

The AED 17 million project will include the installation of 470 parking meters across the emirate. The Authority also announced the renewal of its contract with Transguard, the Emirates Group's security service provider, for the collection of money from parking meters, on behalf of RTA.

The department's project plans include the installation of 42 parking machines on Sheikh Zayed road between the 1st and the 2nd interchange; 100 machines in Hor Al Anz east; 146 machines in Port Saeed area; 30 machines in Karama and 14 machines in Umm Hurair. In addition, 42 machines will be installed behind Lamcy plaza and Yasmeen Mall; 10 machines will be put up for the parking area of Dubai courts; 5 machines on Oud Metha road; 50 machines on Jumeirah 1 and 75 machines in Garhoud area. The department plans to finish this 7th phase of the Parking Control System project in a span of 330 days.

These parking meters will be functional from September 2006.

The Parking Department had signed an agreement with Transguard in 2003 for the collection of revenue from parking meters and depositing the same with the concerned bank account of RTA. This year RTA has renewed its contract with Transguard for seeking their services.

Speaking at the press conference, Engineer Mehdi Ali, Director of the Parking Department at RTA, said, 'We at RTA are committed to continuously work towards improving and modifying the traffic system in Dubai. We work in close coordination with all departments within RTA to realize our ambitious vision of finding quality solutions that help in sustaining the high standards of the road and transport sector of Dubai.'

'The ever-increasing number of vehicles on our roads has created a need for more parking areas across the city. Paid parking zones will allow for orderly and safe parking, and more importantly will help raise significant revenue that will be utilised for financing various transport infrastructure development projects,' he added.

The Parking Department's responsibilities include processing requests for installtion of parking meters, providing temporary footpaths and car parks to increase safety and convenience of the public and supervision and maintenance of parking meters on a 24-hour basis. As part of its plans for improving the transport infrastructure of Dubai, the department is considering introducing a one-card system that facilitates customers to access all public transport services in Dubai with a single card.