THE Kingdom's capital has over 5 million registered vehicles on its roads, making it a congested city where gridlocks are common and parking an increasingly-difficult challenge. Residents of Riyadh have said the city's parking woes are only getting worse with many drivers resorting to parking on sidewalks and other prohibited areas, Al-Riyadh daily reports. Longtime Riyadh resident Ibrahim Al-Forsani blamed drivers for what he termed "slopping parking habits" where they take up multiple parking spots with little regard for others. "Such drivers are selfish and intentionally park their cars in this way so that others do not block their way when they want to leave. This is a common scene near restaurants, hotels, government buildings and schools," he said. Abdulaziz A., a college student, said campuses in the capital suffer from a shortage of parking and accused authorities of relying on fines instead of coming up with solutions. "My car was towed three times this month and had to pay SR100 in fine each time. My monthly stipend is SR840 and parking fines significantly dented my budget this month. Why can't university administrators build more parking spots for students instead of repeatedly slapping us with fines?" he asked. Muhammad Al-Mazeed, another student, disagreed with Abdulaziz and said there is sufficient parking on most campuses and the real problem is people are too lazy to park far and walk. "When I cannot find a place nearby, I park my car far away and walk. Walking for 10-20 minutes a day is healthy, enhances immune system and protects against Alzheimer's. Why sign up for a gym and pay money when I can park a little far away and walk?" he asked. Citizen Muhammad Al-Sarhani said whenever he wants to go a crowded place such as a government building or popular mall where parking is scarce, he takes a taxi. "The only effective solution to the parking problem is to build multi-floor parking lots. In many developed countries they have automated parking garages. Why can't we get those here?" he asked. Wael Al-Enazi called for introducing shuttle buses for college students and members of the public who want to go to high-traffic areas and said existing parking lots should be modified to accommodate buses.
