Paid parking a price of Dubai’s success

With the activation of controversial new parking meters at The Greens residential community in Dubai, many residents will have to rethink the cost of owning more than one car. As The National reported yesterday, a petition by more than 300 residents failed to stop the implementation of paid parking.

While a degree of sympathy is reasonable for residents who find themselves being charged for something they previously enjoyed for free, there is justification for the actions of the developer, Emaar, and the Roads and Transport Authority.

Unlike the neighbouring gated compounds like The Lakes, the parking in The Greens is in a public space. Each apartment is already allocated one covered parking space but the residents’ ability to park a second or even third car on the street comes at a cost to those who run businesses – including shops and restaurants whose customers seek to park nearby. An undersupply of parking spaces also comes at a cost in terms of traffic flow.

The benefit to the community as a whole, rather than the interests of individual residents, is that this helps change the decision-making process of having more than one car. Especially now that Dubai has the Metro system – and, from next month, the tram network – having a car for each adult is not the necessity it once was. The introduction of metered parking will help tip the balance for some residents, who will conclude that additional cars are an unnecessary luxury.

This is in the nature of the development of major cities, where parking controls in more densely-populated zones are a response designed to prevent cars dominating public spaces. Free parking leads some to abuse the freedom by leaving their cars for months while on holidays, to the cost of those who visit on a daily basis. This adjustment to the cost-benefit ratio of car ownership is just part and parcel of Dubai’s development and forms a logical extension of paid parking being introduced. Perhaps it’s time to have a change in mindset when it comes to car ownership.