SHARJAH // Abdullah Muhannad became increasingly frustrated when he drove home at night to the Nabba neighbourhood of Sharjah only to find heavy construction vehicles gobbling up residential parking places.
"You find a truck taking up to three cars' parking slots just because they are demolishing some building in the neighbourhood or constructing another," said Mr Muhannad, 40, who is originally from Syria. "For long I have wondered why authorities don't do something."
Mr Muhannad's question is now being answered.
Sharjah Municipality has resumed enforcing an old law that bans heavy lorries from parking in residential areas.
With a building boom in progress, competition for parking in residential areas has grown intense. Now municipal authorities will patrol residential areas, particularly the neighbourhoods of Abu Shagara, Al Qassimia and Rolla, and will levy fines against violators of the lorry parking ban.
Mohammed Azhari, a senior official in Sharjah Municipality, said several residents had complained about construction vehicles parking at night in residential areas.
The problem had made parking slots precious and had also led to an increase in minor accidents between the lorries and small vehicles.
Mr Azhari said the municipality would also target vehicles parked in prohibited areas, such as places set aside for disabled drivers.
The campaign began on Sunday and will go through the Eid holidays, or until the authorities are convinced the problem is being solved.
Faisal Khan, a Pakistani who lives in the Rolla neighbourhood, said the pace of construction was such that empty parking lots sometimes disappeared in a matter of hours.
"We rely on a few empty lands near our buildings, but an empty land you left in the morning, you will find it fenced in the evening for construction of another building," he said.
"We wonder who gives out all these licences to investors without asking them to have space between each other and also provide parking for their tenants."
Mr Khan suggested that residential areas should receive a significant portion of the Dh1 billion (US$270 million) recently donated to Sharjah by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, for infrastructure improvements.
Mr Khan suggested multi-storey car parks would be welcome.
Sharjah Municipality announced last year that it had dedicated Dh200m to build up to six multi-storey car parks in three years. Among these was the Abu Shagara car park being built at the cost of Dh86m that collapsed recently, injuring six workers.
@Email:ykakande@thenational.ae
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The%20specs
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47