City Center mall, home of Qatar’s most congested parking lot, will begin charging for parking today during a week-long pay-to-park trial.

The charges will start at QR2 for the first hour, QR3 for the second and third hours, and QR10 for every additional hour.

Gulf Times reports:

With the new charges, customers who visit the mall for four hours would have to pay a charge of QR18.

As many people visit the City Center to attend the cinema, they will find themselves facing similar charges after watching a film and opting to do a bit of shopping or grab a bite to eat.

However, the main problems associated with the mall relate to parking difficulties, and customers are hopeful that the new rules will alleviate the lack of spaces and make visiting less of a hassle.

Shopkeepers do have the option of paying for validation machines, but they only cover one hour’s worth of parking.

I’m all for making it easier to park at City Center, but would strongly encourage the cinema to consider validating people’s parking tickets. 

What do you guys think?