For years, parking in central Abu Dhabi has been a point of concern for many. Now, as officials confirm that vertical parking solutions are in the pipeline, residents say the shortage has been reshaping how they live — from leaving cars parked for months to taking taxis home after finding no space near their own buildings.
“I drove out of Abu Dhabi for a quick errand, came back, and couldn’t find a single parking spot near my home,” said Mohammed Daqqaq, who lives in Silver Tower on the Corniche.
“I ended up parking at a mall, taking a taxi home, then going back for the car the next morning.”
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Daqqaq said such situations made residents in his area decide to take matters into their own hands. “We started calling and complaining — me, Raed and other neighbours, until more resident parking spaces were painted in our area,” he told Khaleej Times in an update that took place two months after his initial interview.
He said the additional resident-only spaces have brought some relief.
“Before, if you came home after 6pm, your chances of finding parking were very slim. Now it’s improved; you might still find something until around 8 or 8.30pm.”
But he said the problem is not yet completely resolved.
“If they add just two more resident lines, things could become almost normal again, where if you come home very late, maybe then it’s difficult, but not at 9pm or 10pm.”
Morning hours, however, remain especially difficult.
“From 8.30am until around 2.30 or 3pm, your chances of finding parking are almost zero.”
Daqqaq said the congestion is made worse by the presence of two government entities and an entire office tower within what is otherwise a residential zone.
“None of them have underground parking, so office workers end up taking residential parking.”
Underground facility closed for maintenance
His neighbour, Raed Haddad, said his family’s car has barely moved in years because they fear losing their parking spot.
“My car is a 2012 model, and honestly it hasn’t really been used for four or five years,” he said.
“We rely on taxis, Uber, anything. My wife once spent two and a half hours driving around looking for parking and ended up crying.”
Haddad said an underground public parking facility that used to serve the area was closed for maintenance in 2022 and has yet to reopen.
“That parking used to serve the whole neighbourhood. Since it closed, everything changed.”
He said the family has even discussed selling their car.
“We kept saying maybe it’ll reopen in six months… then one year… then two… now it’s been years.”
‘People stopped going out’
Residents say the shortage is also affecting restaurants, cafés and evening footfall in the city centre.
“You go out at 10pm and cafés that used to be full are nearly empty. People don’t stop going out because they don’t want to; they stop because parking becomes a headache.”
Another resident, Rana Haddad, who struggled endlessly with parking when she lived on Al Najda street, said she used to park on the other street, and order an Uber home. She also linked the worsening shortage to the closure of several multi-level public parking facilities in central Abu Dhabi, which they said were shut around two years ago for “renovation” and never reopened.
Rana eventually moved with her family to Al Meena Tower in late 2024 where there used to be plenty of parking since 2020 – until a few months after she moved.
“At first, there was always parking. Suddenly if you arrive after 7pm, you’d spend 30 minutes circling.”
She said she now avoids taking the car out in the evening unless absolutely necessary.
“If we come back late, we know we’ll struggle.”
Vertical parking on the way
Responding to a Khaleej Times question about downtown parking shortages, Maysarah Mahmoud Eid, Director General of Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC) said Abu Dhabi has “a clear direction” on the issue.
He pointed to recent comments made by Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities (DMT) who announced that vertical parking solutions are planned as part of the emirate’s broader transport strategy.
Eid confirmed that some existing parking facilities had been closed for “renovation purposes” as part of broader upgrades.
When informed about residents’ speculations that the parking space have been shut down to push residents out of the city centre, and use the complexes for other purposes, he said: “Abu Dhabi doesn’t adopt policies. There is a clear direction from our leadership on developing Abu Dhabi, and Al Shorafa mentioned during the recent press conference that vertical parking is coming.”
While no timeline or locations have yet been announced, residents say they hope the projects move quickly.
“We love living in downtown Abu Dhabi,” Daqqaq said. “We just want to be able to come home and park.”
Source: Khaleej Times