City Center mall has installed parking ticket machines and may start charging for parking as early as next month, say local media reports.

The idea behind instituting parking fees, which has been discussed for at least two years, is to clear up spaces occupied by employees working in nearby buildings.

The Peninsula reports:

The mall has around 1,600 parking slots, 300 of which are occupied by mall staff. An additional parking space that could accommodate up to 400 vehicles was planned to be set up to alleviate the problem.

Lack of parking space is seen to be a main problem as a huge influx of people is expected this summer when people are left almost without any choice but spend their leisure time inside the mall as staying out is virtually impossible with temperatures crossing 50 degrees Celsius.

What do you guys think? Would you be willing to be shell out a few riyals in exchange for actually finding a parking space at City Center?

Image courtesy of the Peninsula.