Faisal Aboobacker Ponnani

Saudi Gazette



DAMMAM — Motorists in the Eastern Province will have to pay SR1 an hour to park in local streets from 12.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m., according to the regional general manager for the National Parking Company (Mawqif).



Hafiz Azzubair said drivers will have to pay SR2 to park from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. All other times and Fridays are free.



Eastern Province municipal authorities introduced the new paid street parking system, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, in March 2010 in Al-Khobar and Dammam to improve the often chaotic parking behavior of motorists.

Drivers who need to park within the paid parking zones must purchase tickets from pay and display meters located on the sidewalks.



Drivers will have to park their vehicles in the clearly marked spaces for parking or else their vehicles will be towed.



Towed vehicles can only be retrieved after a fine of SR50 and towing charges of SR100 have been paid.



Parking enforcement officers who patrol the streets will issue fines to those drivers who do not display a valid parking ticket on the dashboard of their parked vehicle or violate any other parking regulation.



Enforcement officers will monitor the time the vehicle is parked in the paid space and impose parking penalties if it has overstayed its time limit.



According to Azzubair, many have come to realize the benefits of the new parking system reflected in availability of parking spaces, including being able to reach shopping destinations faster, finding spaces closer to the shop they want to go to, and less cars parked on sidewalks or other pedestrian areas.