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What mental midget designed them here? Every mall or multi-story car park seems like it is more confusing than it needs to be. Ibn Battuta is ok. MOE, Dubai Mall, Marina Mall, even JBR. I mean there are speed bumps so tall and square, they are like curbs and threaten to rip the steering out of your car (my BMW steering rack was a victim of speed bumps).

The overall design is crazy. You can't get out where you came in, can't ever find the exits, etc. I find Dubai Mall so bad that I won't even go there. If you follow the exit signs, you WILL drive around in circles. MOE is no better. It is so convuluted and crazy with one way, curvy bits...some spaces (after the bends) require a 37-point turn to get your buggy in, causing a major tailback as there is no where for those behind you to go. Marina Mall is equally as stupid..drive up 5 levels, then go down 2 to get to where you want to be.

I have never seen this in North America or Australia and has bugged me for years. At Dubai Courts, there are approx. 50 parking spots for the civil and criminal court. Creek park next door holds hundreds of cars and is always packed by 9am....and not a soul in creek park. I guess this case harkens back to the day when they built towers on SZR with street parking for 20 cars.

I have a copy of the design blueprints they used;

I personally think the speed bumps are a good thing in this country otherwise you'd have nuts trying to recreate scenes from tokoyo drift in the parking. As for your steering rack either it was your fault trying to going over them at more than were intented or just the usual shoddy BMW workmanship. Gone are the days of the solid engineering of the E30, 34, 36's

MOE isn't that bad but I agree with Dubai Mall and the worst culprit being Marina Mall.

I am all for speed bumps. The BMW I had was a Z3, very low to the ground. The Arabian Ranches bumps took out the rack TWICE..it scraped every time. In JBR, my Camry scrapes. It is a bit much.

MOE is still nuts. Yesterday I parked on the first floor, by the HSBC/electronic stores. To exit to Barsha (following the signs) I needed to drive to the other end of the mall, then U-turn to almost exactly where I was, go down a level (make sure you see the only crappy sign on the right), go down the ramp, then finally exit. If you miss the ONE small sign, you would drive in circles. If you miss the sign, you go the wrong way, are hooped and end up on SZR with no hope of getting where you want.

Ahh yes the paking itself isn't that bad in MOE but after getting out and going in the desired direction is another challenge altoghter. I always end up going the wrong way ! LOL

And a Z3 man.....come on Dawg. One of the worst things ever made by BMW.

dubaidog wrote:I am all for speed bumps. The BMW I had was a Z3, very low to the ground. The Arabian Ranches bumps took out the rack TWICE..it scraped every time. In JBR, my Camry scrapes. It is a bit much.

MOE is still nuts. Yesterday I parked on the first floor, by the HSBC/electronic stores. To exit to Barsha (following the signs) I needed to drive to the other end of the mall, then U-turn to almost exactly where I was, go down a level (make sure you see the only crappy sign on the right), go down the ramp, then finally exit. If you miss the ONE small sign, you would drive in circles. If you miss the sign, you go the wrong way, are hooped and end up on SZR with no hope of getting where you want.

DD, are you a hairdresser?

^DD - been there, done that - with MOE. Totally agree.

We lived in Springs and it took us a few visits to work out how to get in and out without the 'look we want to go there, why do we keep passing it' stage! Once we found the way in and out, it was ok - until Salik was launched and we had to go through the rigmarole again of working out the best way in from Barsha and finding a way out that didn't take us to where we didn't want to go!

As for Beemers - I had an E34, E39 and E60 - and whilst I liked the gadgets in the E60, the E39 was my favourite. Solid, lovely car. Sold it to a friend when we left the UK, and still get to see it and ride in it when we go back.

Not too sure about the latest one though..

Cheers,
Shafique

drewpeacock wrote:DD, are you a hairdresser?

If that's a crack at the car, it was my wife's.

drewpeacock wrote:

dubaidog wrote:I am all for speed bumps. The BMW I had was a Z3, very low to the ground. The Arabian Ranches bumps took out the rack TWICE..it scraped every time. In JBR, my Camry scrapes. It is a bit much.

MOE is still nuts. Yesterday I parked on the first floor, by the HSBC/electronic stores. To exit to Barsha (following the signs) I needed to drive to the other end of the mall, then U-turn to almost exactly where I was, go down a level (make sure you see the only crappy sign on the right), go down the ramp, then finally exit. If you miss the ONE small sign, you would drive in circles. If you miss the sign, you go the wrong way, are hooped and end up on SZR with no hope of getting where you want.

DD, are you a hairdresser?

I thought hairdressers drove Audi TT's?

Bethsmum wrote:

drewpeacock wrote:

dubaidog wrote:I am all for speed bumps. The BMW I had was a Z3, very low to the ground. The Arabian Ranches bumps took out the rack TWICE..it scraped every time. In JBR, my Camry scrapes. It is a bit much.

MOE is still nuts. Yesterday I parked on the first floor, by the HSBC/electronic stores. To exit to Barsha (following the signs) I needed to drive to the other end of the mall, then U-turn to almost exactly where I was, go down a level (make sure you see the only crappy sign on the right), go down the ramp, then finally exit. If you miss the ONE small sign, you would drive in circles. If you miss the sign, you go the wrong way, are hooped and end up on SZR with no hope of getting where you want.

DD, are you a hairdresser?

I thought hairdressers drove Audi TT's?

Correct BM.

But the short back and side brigade drive Z4's and always pass it off as the wifes car.

LOL

Dubai Mall is the worst of all. It seems the large capacity was planned without adequate traffic flow roads, entry and exit points. I think it was noticed later and several changes were made in the traffic flow system in the car park, resulting in even more confusion. Signs painted on the road that point in both directions while being an single direction road, to many direction changes you need to make to reach the exit; and curbs so high and tight that you could scrape them easily, a low car can risk damage on the rims. The good thing about the parking spaces at Dubai Mall is that they have many spacious parking spots, reducing risk of damage from other cars.

In MOE the traffic flow system is better, buts signs are small, bad positioned and during the day its sometimes impossible to see exit signs (if they are positioned against the bright light from outside). Unfortunately, the parking spaces are so tight, that dents from other doors are almost imminent. I always make it a point to park as far as possible from the entrance; it seems to me the people that do the same all take much more care about their own and others cars. 2 weeks ago I saw a black windowed Abu Dhabi registered GMC Yukon trying to get in a small parking spot between 2 cars at MOE. He moved very, very slow, trying to get in, unfortunately scrapped for about 1 meter the side of a Camry with his front bumper. Ironically, 20 meters further down, there were many empty spots with much more space; I guess they wanted to avoid any walking step they could do. The driver of that GMC went out of the car, had a look, and wanted to drive away, but I stopped him and warned the mall security. Imagine it was your car, and you come back seeing all that damage and culprit not in sight!

Mirdif City Centre is a breath of fresh air in ther world of mall parking. Easy in, easy to navigate, Easy exit.
It can also be seen from space at night.

How many of you have ever parked at Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi?

Never been to Wahda Mall, but if it is anything like the AUH roads, I can only imagine. True, benwj, MCC is a bit better compared to the others. I am off to Healthcare City now, hoping to get a spot in the sand seeing as there is NO parking there.

dubaidog wrote:Never been to Wahda Mall, but if it is anything like the AUH roads, I can only imagine. True, benwj, MCC is a bit better compared to the others. I am off to Healthcare City now, hoping to get a spot in the sand seeing as there is NO parking there.

On the other topic you are in Utah DD. What sort of car is it you are driving these days?

I've been to Utah, once, I learned from my mistake

Q: Why are a tornado and a Utah State divorce similar?
A: You know someone is going to lose a house trailer!

Q: How do you get a Utah University graduate off your front porch?
A: Pay him for the pizza.

Boom Boom!

Wahda Mall parking is just like dubai's marina mall' except the lanes are narrower and there are 5 times (yes), as many cars as in Marina Mall.