Parking spaces in short supply and high demand

It is possible to buy goods and services from all over the world in Qatar. But what you will not be able to find easily in Doha, is parking space. Our vehicle-heavy lifestyle has crunched not just road space, but also the place available to park the automobiles.

Added to this is a cavalier attitude towards vehicle ownership. Residents buy them and abandon them, usually after an accident that makes repair costlier than a new vehicle. Some people try and use pavements as pop-up stores to sell off their cars, pasting up “For Sale” signs on their windscreen and leaving them parked there for months together.

News that the former Souq Najada’s parking lot is turning into a dump is just a continuation of our “use-and-throw” mentality towards cars.

With the price of fuel much lower than in many other countries, automobile users in the Arabian Gulf are spoilt for choice when it comes to buying a car. Even the bitter pill of rigorous driving tests is swallowed willingly for as many times as it takes to get the much-treasured licence.

But once we are behind the wheel, our attitude takes a U-turn.

We go from fearful to over-confident, like our engines, in 0-60 seconds.

From a romantic ideal of a brand that symbolises sturdiness and fuel economy, our car becomes something unremarkable, one of many on the crowded roads. We drive like crazy, ignoring all the safety campaigns and Traffic Department statistics. We try and convert our vehicles into mini homes and offices – making calls and filling it with rubbish. And then, when we give up on the car (or the other way round), we just dump it.

The ubiquity of cars in Qatar has taken the sheen off vehicle ownership. Car manufacturers may be banking on engine power and brand heritage, but for someone who sees the products everywhere, their appeal is less pervasive.

The misuse of paid parking lots is symptomatic of a larger problem related to the driving habits in Qatar. It has become commonplace to spend at least 20 minutes looking for a parking space anywhere in Doha’s shopping areas – and not just on weekends when the traffic is busier.

Operators of paid parking lots should be held responsible for giving at least their customers a clean and safe place to park; but again, the large number of cars has allowed standards to slip. Confident of finding someone desperate enough to leave their vehicle in a rubbish-strewn and dingy lot in Doha, the operators or “maintenance” companies just don’t bother with the niceties of customer service anymore.

It’s interesting to note that we would not normally tolerate this sort of devil-may-care attitude from any service operator. Reputable stores and service providers in Qatar have customer helplines where complaints can be lodged with the promise of some sort of redress.

But Doha’s parking crisis remains a “no-entry” zone.