42 ITE JOURNAL / SEPTEMBER 2010

Abu Dhabi Parking Rates Requirements

THIS STUDY ADDRESSES
A RE-LOOK AT THE
MINIMUM PARKING
STANDARDS FOR VARIOUS
USES IN ABU DHABI CITY
AND ALSO INTRODUCES
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
MAXIMUM PARKING
REQUIREMENTS.
BY IBRAHEM M. SHATNAWI
INTRODUCTION
Amongst many other things the quality
of life experienced by the public is depen-
dent on transport and access to jobs, shop-
ping, and leisure facilities and services. The
development of suitable integrated trans-
port policy, which is complimentary to land
use planning, can help to develop cities that
are more attractive and easy to live in. One
of the key components of an integrated
transport plan is parking policy.
Parking policies, together with other
planning and transport measures, can be
used to promote sustainable transport
choices and reduce the reliance on the
car for work and other journeys.
PARKING
The availability of
car parking (for those
who have access to a car) has a major in-
uence on the means of transport people
choose for their journeys. Some studies
have suggested that levels of parking can
be more signicant than levels of public
transport provision in determining the
means of travel to a location.
A consistent approach on parking is
therefore essential to avoid competition
between different locations based on the
supply or cost of parking. Parking therefore
needs to complement planning policies.
Parking policies should encourage
the shared use of parking, especially in
downtown areas or large developments,
as the peak parking demand for different
land uses often do not coincide. Con-
sequently, greater efciency for parking
can be achieved and the overprovision of
parking can be avoided.
Maximum parking standards can be
used as a tool for dening levels of parking
required for a broad range of land uses for
different areas. The maximum standards
become part of a package of measures that
can be used to encourage alternative forms
of transport. These standards should be seen
as maximum standards that that should not
require developers provide

more parking;
1

in fact this should be discouraged and only
allowed after an exceptional case has been
presented by a developer. However, only
values below the maximum should be al-
lowed when a developer has fully analyzed
Figure 1. Zone numbers for Abu Dhabi.
ITE JOURNAL / SEPTEMBER 2010 43
trip generation and developed a suitable
plan for dealing with those trips that will
not be able to be undertaken by car.
The development of parking policies
can only be successful if it is accompanied
by the enforcement of parking regulations
such that illegal parking is discouraged to
such an extent that it is a rare occurrence.
ABU DHABI PARKING
All emirates have standards for the
minimum amount of parking required for
new developments written into their zon-
ing code. Theses minimums are generally
based on the Dubai Manual for Trip Gener-
ation and Parking Requirements Rates. The
Dubai manual was developed by Dubai
municipality and was intended to be used
Table 1.2. Minimum and maximum number of parking spaces for dwelling and residential room.
Use
Inner CBD Outer CBD Non CBD
Recommended Recommended Recommended
Minimum Number
of Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Minimum Number
of Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Minimum Number
of Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Dwelling,
1 or 2 levels
0.58 per dwelling
unit
1 per dwelling unit
0.93 per dwelling
unit
2 per dwelling unit
1.09 per dwelling
unit
2 per dwelling unit
Dwelling,
1 or 2 levels
0.0 per dwelling
unit
0.0 per dwelling
unit
0.0 per dwelling
unit
0.0 per dwelling
unit
0.0 per dwelling
unit
0.0 per dwelling
unit
Dwelling,
1 or 2 levels
0.0 per dwelling
unit
1 per dwelling unit 1 per dwelling unit 2 per dwelling unit 1 per dwelling unit 2 per dwelling unit
% change N/A 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Dwelling,
3 or more levels
0.69 per dwelling
unit
1 per dwelling unit
1.1 per dwelling
unit
2 per dwelling unit
1.13 per dwelling
unit
2 per dwelling unit
Dwelling,
3 or more levels
1 per dwelling
unit+1 guest space
per 15 units
NA
1 per dwelling
unit+1 guest space
per 15 units
NA
1 per dwelling
unit+1 guest space
per 15 units
NA
Dwelling,
3 or more levels
0.0 per dwelling
unit
1 per dwelling unit 1 per dwelling unit 2 per dwelling unit 1 per dwelling unit 2 per dwelling unit
% change N/A 0% -10% 0% -13% 0%
Residential Room 0.53 per room 1 per room 0.54 per room 1 per room 0.89 per room 1.5 per room
Residential Room
1 space per 10
unites+ 1 spaces
for manager
NA
1 space per 10
unites+ 1 spaces
for manager
NA
1 space per 10
unites+ 1 spaces
for manager
NA
Residential Room 0.0 per unit 0.1 per unit 0.0 per unit 0.3 per unit 0.1 per unit 0.6 per unit
% change N/A -90% N/A -70% -88% -60%
Table 1.1. Minimum and maximum number of parking spaces for ofces.
Use
Inner CBD Outer CBD Non CBD
Recommended Recommended Recommended
Minimum Number
of Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Minimum Number of
Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Minimum Number
of Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Ofces
1 per 40 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 28 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 53 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 48 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 45 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 32 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 54 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 37 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 40 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 36 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 36 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 25 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 66 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 35 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 50 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 30 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 50 sq.m of
oor area
1 per 25 sq.m of
oor area
% change -65% -25% +6% +38% -11% +22%
44 ITE JOURNAL / SEPTEMBER 2010
in conjunction with information about lo-
cal conditions in Dubai for assessing devel-
opments for the purposes of undertaking
trafc impact studies in Dubai.
In the absence of other data within the
United Arab Emirates, it is clear that the
Dubai manual provides the best data for
application to other emirates. However, it
should be noted that the local conditions
will vary from one emirate to another, so
generic standards like the Dubai manual
should be used with care as they may
not reect exactly conditions for other
emirates.
Currently, Abu Dhabi is embarking
on at least two major studies that could
inuence parking:
Provision of parking services in
Abu Dhabi. This project is being
undertaken by the Abu Dhabi mu-
nicipality and will formalize parking
and the regulation of parking at least
within the central business district of
Abu Dhabi; and
Surface transport master plan for
Abu Dhabi. This project is being
undertaken by the Department of
Transport and will develop a surface
transport plan integrating different
forms of transport and that is consis-
tent with the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030.
REVIEW OF CURRENT ABU DHABI
PARKING REQUIREMENTS
One way to improve on generic park-
ing requirements is to allow exibility
based on certain considerations, such as
the following:
Presence of nearby complementary
destinations within walking distance
and/or potential for shared parking;
Parking studies providing data to
support requests to reduce or increase
parking requirements;
Provision of viable alternative trans-
port; and
Development of parking policies
that are complementary to ongoing
studies.
Tables 1.3. Minimum and maximum number of parking spaces for malls.
Use
Inner CBD Outer CBD Non CBD
Recommended Recommended Recommended
Minimum Number
of Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Minimum Number
of Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Minimum Number
of Parking Spaces
Maximum Number
of Parking Spaces
Malls 1 per 30 sq.m 1 per 20 sq.m 1 per 30 sq.m 1 per 20 sq.m 1 per 30 sq.m 1 per 20 sq.m
Malls
1 per 35 sq.m of
oor area <860
sq.m, & 1 per 22
sq.m of oor area
>860 sq.m
NA
1 per 22 sq.m of
oor area
NA
1 per 22 sq.m of
oor area
NA
Malls 1 per 30 sq.m 1 per 20 sq.m 1 per 30 sq.m 1 per 20 sq.m 1 per 30 sq.m 1 per 20 sq.m
% change 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Table 1.4. Percentages of parking reductions for all of Abu Dhabi City.
Zone
Number
Zone Area
(km)
Zone Location (Inner CBD, Outer CBD. Non CBD)
based on Plan Abu Dhabi 2030
Percentage of
Parking Reduction
1 (1.5 x 2.5) Outer CBD 5%
2 (4 x 2) Inner CBD 25%
3 (2.3 x 1.5) Inner CBD 25%
4 (1.5 x 4.5) Outer CBD 5%
5 (2.5 x 0.8) Outer CBD 5%
6 (3.3 x 1.2) Outer CBD 5%
7 (4 x 1.7) Outer CBD 5%
8 (3.8 x 1.5) Outer CBD 5%
9 (1.7 x 4.7) Non CBD 15%
10 (1 x 4.5) Non CBD 15%
11 (1.2 x 5.3) Inner CBD 25%
12 (1.5 x 4.2) Non CBD 15%
13 (9 x 5.5) Non CBD 15%
14 (4 x 10) Non CBD 15%
15 (3.5 x 2.5) Non CBD 15%
16 (11 x 4.5) Non CBD 15%
17 (8.5 x 10) Outer CBD 5 %