Public parking cannot be reserved for anyone, MoI declare

Owners of shops and institutions have no right to reserve public parking lots in front of their premises and not allowing other cars into such areas violates the law, say Ministry of Interior officials.

The Traffic Department at the ministry has urged the public to immediately report such violation, which attracts a fine of QR300.

Col Sultan Mohammed Al Kaabi, assistant director of Community Policing Department at the ministry said that there is no law giving shopowners any exclusive right on parking lots in front of their premises.

“It is not good for the owner of the shop to reserve parking space by putting barriers to prevent others from using it, thinking that it is his own parking.”

“Some shops keep parking areas occupied on the pretext that some goods are coming to their shop. This argument is nonsensical and this will affect traffic flow since vehicles will be forced to move around looking for parking,” Al Kaabi told the police magazine Al Shurtha Maak.

As for parking inside residential complexes, Al Kaabi said that the owners must set rules and regulations and properly manage the parking. 

This must be included in the rental contract. He noted that there are several residential facilities that handle parking in a good way.

Mohammed Radi Al Hajri, Director of Media and Awareness at the Traffic Department also said that public parking areas cannot be reserved for any reason.

The law considers all parking areas public except those designated for the disabled.

He pointed out that Article No 79 of the Traffic Law states that it is not permitted to hinder traffic flow by misusing parking spaces.

He urged the public to report to the Traffic Department if they come across people placing barriers in front of shops in violation of the law.

They can send an email to the department with a picture of the scene or call the ministry’s operation room that is working round-the-clock.

The department will immediately send the patrolling team to investigate the complaint.

He said parking spaces inside houses as well as residential complexes are considered private. There are some complexes offering parking services to the tenants since they do not have dedicated parking space, with approval from the Traffic Department.

They take the car and keep them somewhere inside the complex. This is not illegal. 

He added that the authorities are looking for temporary solutions to address the parking problem in different areas such as the free shuttle service in West Bay and the long-term parking area at the Hamad International Airport that charges a nominal parking fee. [The Peninsula]

(Cover image courtesy: Qassim, The Peninsula)