City Center parking fees start tomorrow
By timebandit •
City Center parking fees start tomorrow  |
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By Peter Townson According to City Center director Amer Sandawi, the parking system, which cost more than QR10mn to install, had been undergoing trial to ensure that it was up and running smoothly when it came into operation. “We want to make sure that we had tested the system to make sure that everything works fine - we don’t want our customers to suffer any inconvenience,” he said. Customers will pay QR2 for the first hour of parking, QR3 for the second and third hours, and then QR10 for any additional hours. Sandawi explained that the charges had been brought in to alleviate problems associated with parking for customers. “We had a problem with external parking, people coming to park from other places in the West Bay,” he said, adding “this is a problem in the whole area and not just for us.” “This other issue we had was people coming to the mall and staying here all day but not buying anything.” Sandawi explained that City Center decided to introduce the system so that customers who had a need to get into the shopping centre would not be repelled by the poor parking situation. Responding to accusations of simply introducing a money-making scheme, he explained that the cost of applying the system had been excessive and the money raised would only cover the costs of the initial investment. With 12 entrance booths, 12 cash booth exits and four ticketing machines, the new system requires a large number of staff to man booths from 8am until 2am every day. Sandawi pointed out that tenants would be able to offer a service to validate their customers’ tickets, noting that cinema customers could have the third and fourth hours of charges reduced to QR3 rather than QR10 by showing tickets to the information desk. He explained that customers who spent over QR100 at Carrefour would receive two hours of free parking, and that other stores will be putting similar measures in place to offer price reductions to their customers. Yesterday, the new system was in full use, but customers were not being charged for the parking. The effects of the new system were clear, as many more parking spaces were available than usual, and while cars could previously be seen circling the car park for over 10 minutes looking for spaces, yesterday there were empty spaces for potential customers. Although it is summer and demand for parking spaces will be less than usual over the coming month or so, the system will be tested fully when people return from their annual holidays. However, the centre’s director is confident that the changes will improve the shopping experience at City Center, and that customers will find parking much less of an inconvenience from tomorrow. “A number of tenants told us their customers were complaining about parking here and we wanted to do something to make a change,” Sandawi said, adding “now we have fully tested the system, we can already see the difference it will make.” |
In India atleast the malls to which I have been to don't charge for the parking.
Good job you do not live in the UK - it is usually QR 15 a hour.If you travel to another city for a days shopping it can cost over QR 100 for the day and that is on top of the high cost of petrol to get there.I think this is a bargain.
maybe we could be enlightened. In our country, parking spaces for a structures are predetermined such that if there is any deviation made, we make sure that number of parking slots allocated are kept or if it really necessary to 'eat-up" some parking slots, then an altenative area will be allocated in some place within the structures.But I agree, there is branch of government that deals with this and approval of occupancypermit should also be based on the number of parking slots allocated. But again, economics of building a structures also is a big consideration in planning and building a structure.
There are plenty of commercial towers not yet even finished that have 30 stories of office space, and no basement parking. So if there is a standard set for a ratio between floor space and parking (and personally I don't think there is) it isn't a very strict standard. I've only been here 5 years, but in that whole time, City Center has never had an adequate amount of parking. When was it built?
any structures are based on existing standards. It's part of economcs of design. If CC was design based on what year of existing standards (number of parking space per covered area of what year or QCS or any other international standards) so it was so designed or planned. Did you think that eversince CC was erected tehre was a parking problem already.Even in office building, there are rules how many parking slots are allocated for certain covered area or occupied area, because if there is no guidelines, then what will be the basis for budgeting. Just to give an idea, do you think that an office with 20 employees wil be given 20 slots of parking. PArking slots is based on existing standard. If it is a commercial space, maybe more. If it is an office space, tehre is a corresponding number. It could not be that a developer will spend more for free parking than the function of the structure he is building.Item 2 was only an example.Item 3 was pun intendedItem 1, ask planning and designing offices of what standards are they using? Do not compare a mall built NOT at the same time and Not of the same budget. As I said, maybe now, these new malls have no parking problems but for sure, time will come that they will feel the heat. Look at LAndmark now! Have you tried parking there now? Even Villagio? They are starting to have the same problem! not much but time will come.
How do you think the bugs felt :O(
trust me Kareena...:(The last movie i saw there was 'Veer' and trust me i came out of the threatre scrating my bum....:(
I have not been there for years now so have no idea.. I think the last movie that I had seen there was Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna in 2006...
Kareena just for your info, Doha/Gulf cinema's have tons of bed bugs...:(So go there at ur own Rizks....:)
35 for movie plus 11 for parking.. 46 riyals for a movie.. NO way.. I think I better stick to Doha cinema at 20 riyals in balcony and 25 for the box.
flor... I am not sure if you made lot of sense there...anyways let me see:
1) 'all designs are based on existing standards'... what standard are you talking of... if u can elaborate, would be easy to understand. Will also revert on planning part after am clear about the standards u mentioned.
2) As regards ur arguement about permissible one car per shop whereas in reality more cars being parked as more than one employee in a shop has a car leading to shortage in parking spaces... doesnt it then boils down to mismanagement by CC...what has a customer got to do with it.
3) As regards comparison of malls in Emirates, they are referenced for analogy purpose only and that does not mean one has to drive all the way there to shop because CC parking is full. It's just to bring to perspective that if malls with greater traffic are able to handle it properly without penalising the customer elsewhere (the referred to mall is no more providing free service though, which it used to sometime back) only goes to show the inefficieny on the part of CC. I couldn't understand what surprised you there or what seemed without sense there. Also dont we use references for comparison purposes while evaluating a situation, I guess u would agree that we do.
then expect other to follow. That's 100 % sure.As for those who kept banging about planning, all designs are base on existing standards, so it's not the planning that is a problem. It should be the standards that should be checked.Why go far, just look at the locals residence. They have big parking spaces but check how many cars are outside?So if you look at the bigger pictures, too much cars are here. If one shop in CC has five staff and all staffs have their own car, what do you expect? The allocation as per standard design, let's say is only one per shop for employee, but five cars are coming, it will be really a lost for the whole CC.As for those who continue to compare CC to ther alls in other emirates, I am really quite surprise. Does it mean that we need to go to Dubai because CC parking is full? TAlk with sense, no comparison. Time will come that these malls wil have the same problem.
Let's see what happens after tomorrow. If I can park without any problems next time I go shopping there, I will be very happy to pay the fee.
am not rich, khanan! i just dont beleive in saving anything at this stage of life :)
fro your support TC!
We know you are a rich man! :)
i totally support the parking fee idea!
I get the point of a pay and park scheme to discourage staff from nearby offices from parking in CC, however that does not make sense on weekends.
They've tried out the parking system to see whether it is feasible in the month of July when half of Doha is out of the country. It will be good fun in September when everyone is back, made to pay for parking and still struggle to get parking. Money making scheme??
CC does not have enough parking. Plain simple. The offices nearby barely have any parking. Charging for parking may discourage some but most would be willing to pay and still not get a parking :-) Come September and it will be fun to watch.
I agree this whole thing has been very poorly implemented.Those of us with long memories will recall that paid parking at City Center was in fact supposed to be implemented following Eid in 2009, but it was all put on hold. You would have thought in that time they could have worked out a better plan for its implementation...I think what willl happen is that City Center will come out later in the week/month and start offering free parking to those who spend over a certain amount, to make us all think that they are nice and wonderful.Parking was always a problem at City Center. I remember as far back as 2006 when I used to habitually just park on the dirt out the back rather than fight for a space inside, until they closed most of those areas off for construction. Then I tried parking on the street, until people started getting fines (seriously? It's a 4 lane road... what the?). At least in the meantime Villagio has opened up, and Lulu in Gharafa offers better grocery shopping than Carrefour ever did. But to me, the root cause of all these problems has been the moronic lack of planning by building all those stupid office towers with no onsite parking.
I didnt know Mall of Emirates introduced parking fee now as until March 2009 when I left UAE there was no parking fee there.
I too then am sorry that my comment made you say so, I wasn't expecting that... just an agreement or disagreement is fine with me.
As for the office workers using CC parking, IMO if they make their security fellows work a bit harder to narrow down on such users they can easily get rid of them... not a very difficult thing... however, penalising someone due to actions of someone else is somewhat unacceptable to me. No doubt for whatever reason next time when I really need to go there I can be assurred of a parking, hopefully (it sure has been a pain in ar*e to find a parking there)... but then again the larger picture doesn't go well with me on acceptance.
Ok, again, offices are closed on weekend, does it mean that weekend would be free parking? The idea of introducing parking fees is good, but not being implemented correctly. Mall of the Emirates in UAE is an example where people used to park their cars for the entire day coz of the metro. They introduced parking fee structure in such a way that mall / movie goers were not effected. Anyways, everyone has their personal opinion. As I said, introduce similar fees in all the malls here as it is meant only for privileged ones, or is it?
Mall of the Emirates has paid parking too, as far as I recall.Again, because people were using the shopping center's parking and then taking the metro to work. This whole discussion is the same as the one we had about when Souq Waqif introduced paid parking years ago. And everyone screamed and complained and said that they would never go back, and this would be the end of the souq. And in the end, the souq is busier than ever.
Sorry, not talking about you personally, but about the free loaders who think that malls are a public utility that should be available free of charge. In any event, this whole scheme is targeted at getting rid of the officeworkers who are using the mall’s parking all day long while they work in adjacent towers. Employees who have no place to park their car should be complaining about their idiot manager who decided that leasing office space with no staff parking was a good idea, rather than moaning about the parking in City Center. Is it a pain? Sure. But be sure you are blaming the right people for causing the problem.
I may go to a mall for buying T-shirt or a shirt or a trouser...but after looking around almost everywhere may be I didnt find the one I was looking for and may return empty handed...would I be seen in such situation using the mall as a free, airconditioned walking track to wander around pointlessly for hours on end. I think, not.
For me, I do not see any logic in the premise used for charging the fee except that they have less parking space which is result of improper planning at the design stage. For reference, Mall of Emirates in Dubai handles many many more customers and parking used to be available all the time to everyone and was free because it has been planned well. And I do not see any point in ridiculing someone as not being able to pay QR5 else we wouldnt have had long, well participated, thread about non returning of 50 Dhs change by Carrefour etc. a couple of times on QL.
Fubar - I usually dont go to malls for just 2 hours. Movies are included 99% of the time. Carrefour shopping + lunch/dinner as well. Average spend is Movies (with snacks / drinks):QAR 90, carrefour: QAR 200 (minimum), Lunch/dinner: QAR 70, now parking (which will be 10% of the total spend) - for 5-6hours. My point is that city center is now attracting more blue collar workers coz they can just arrive in a bus, spend time in the mall and leave without spending a single riyal. Yes, this will encourage more people going to malls in public transportation. Parking problem resolved, now make the mall as family mall 7 days a week to avoid other problems. I think they should implement similar parking fees at all the malls so that city center is not singled out. Again, it's my personal opinion and in no way influencing decisions made by other people to go to the mall.
Ajmani, the whole point of this IS to discourage people from going to the mall.If you have so little money that paying an extra 5 riyals for the first 2 hours of parking at City Center is a problem, then chances are you don't have much money to spend on anything else either. City Center is trying to attract people who spend a few hundred riyals each trip, rather than providing a free, airconditioned walking track for people to wander around pointlessly for hours on end.For me personally, I am far more likely to visit the mall now that I know I am likely to be able to find a park.
So, now there will be a queue at information desk to validate the cinema tickets or carrefour shopping! A change is good, but if it is well thought of. The execution is very reactive and would discourage people going to the mall. My visit to mall usually starts at the food court for breakfast @ 10am, first show on friday morning, carrefour shopping, visiting other stores, lunch and winding up by 4pm. Now, i need to pay mall parking tax of about 2+3+3+10+10+10= QAR 38. Is it worth all this hassle? I guess i would go to villagio or other places and donate 30 QAR to the needy. I would avoid going to city center hereafter, until the parking fees are justified.
yeah.. i just received an sms from qtel regarding this... just send FILM to 92000 and you'll receive an sms from them. and by showing the sms to the cashier desk, you'll gonna get up to 2 tickets just for the price of qr20 each instead of qr35... but it's valid from sun-wed only...
With the new parking fees coming into effect, that means that we will not go back there again. Why couldn't they give shoppers, say, 2 hours free parking if they showed a receipt? They have certainly lost us as customers. Plenty of other shopping malls don't charge...
thanks a billion TB for the info...SMS already send.....:)
Qtel is offering more fun for customers, with its fantastic new “Qtel Movie Time” promotion, which offers special rates on cinema tickets. All Hala, Shahry and Control customers who are resident in Qatar can get a 40 percent discount on any movie from Sunday through to Wednesday. Two tickets are available per customer, with each ticket for any film costing just QR20 each, and the offer is available every week! To access this fantastic offer, customers simply need to send an SMS for free to 92000 with the word “FILM”, and they will receive a message entitling them to discounted rates for films at the Landmark, Royal Plaza, The Mall and Gulf Cinemas. Customers simply need to show this SMS to the cinema cashier in the same week that they receive the SMS to benefit from the reduced rate. The new offer is a permanent benefit for Qtel customers, and is part of the company’s innovative new “Qtel Movie Time” campaign, which aims to reward customers for choosing Qtel. Everyone can see what’s playing this week through the Mozaic portal wap.mozaic.qa. With a huge range of films now playing at cinemas in Qatar, including the latest Oscar winners and a wide range of family-friendly fare, there’s never been a better time to be a Qtel customer.Source: http://www.qtel.qa/QODPPortal/portal/qodp_portal_press_rel_item?_nfpb=true§ion=press&locale=en&detailId=29763_EN
TB, wat do u mean by Qtel customer ?I hav (Qtel) Mozaic connection in my house and i am using a Hala card - does tat mean i am a Qtel customer ? :(but wait, Sun to Wed only ? and wat about in weekends ? :(
Hey Rizks if you are a Qtel customer you can go and watch a film at Gulf Cinemas for just QR 20 Sunday to Wednesday.
Why don't you go with Kareena. She can go in and open the emergency door for you to sneak in through..
Kareena & Rizks, Sandawi pointed out that tenants would be able to offer a service to validate their customers’ tickets, noting that cinema customers could have the third and fourth hours of charges reduced to QR3 rather than QR10 by showing tickets to the information desk. 2+3+3+3=11
so to watch a movie in CC it would cost 35 + 18 = 53 ? :(its better i go to Gulf cinema with my scuba diving gear and watch a movie there for only 25QR....:(
"noting that cinema customers could have the third and fourth hours of charges reduced to QR3 rather than QR10 by showing tickets to the information desk".
It is not as bad as we thought initially!
Now I have to think ten times if I want to go and watch a movie at the city center cineplex. 35 riyals for the movie ticket and then 2+3+3+10=18..
I was just showing the humorous side of me. Nonetheless, they could consider putting an advisory board outside the parking entrance showing the numbers of available parking slots or showing "parking full" if this is the case.
Just like the ones in the parking in bank street (behind ex-HSBC building)!
lol britey ! ...and i am going to open a small Karak chai hotel near the counter and will charge 2QR for a cup of chai and with tat money will park my scooter In...:)
This is great. I'm going to wander around the cinema. pick up a few discarded cinema tickets and sell them for 2QR each to motorists. :O)
CG28 what are you going on about. Once you are at the barrier there is no option to do anything other than take a ticket and go in. How can you back out with a long trail of cars behind you? Even if you drive straight back out, you will still be charged QR 2.
I went there yesterday afternoon at 4pm. Plenty of spaces available and to find a vacant space look for the green lights ! Brilliant. I would have paid more just to be able to go when I want !
Once the number of parking slots are full - and you press for the parking ticket, the machine will give a message saying "all parking slots are currently full, please come back later or you if you do not wish to do so, you may visit other shopping centers".
:p
I'm sure it will reduce the parking problem, coz most of the customer will hesitate to visit them. it will affect also the selling profit of the tenant, its my own opinion only. CCD has poor in parking space. personally I stop visiting CCD I'd go Villagio instead.
Going by the way money is made (through all kinds of unfair means) in Qatar, mostly the second option would be practiced.
just want to know how this parking fee works, will the counter issue tickets for the number of parking available inside CC...OR it will go on issuing tickets and you have to die there the whole day insearch of parking ? :(
at least I am hopeful that I dont have to lose 1 hour to find a parking slot!