Visitors to the Souq Waqif are forced to wait in along queues to enter and exit the venue, especially during weekends. Shortage of parking space at the Souq Waqif and deep excavations and construction work in the area has made the visitors wait for long hours. On Friday vehicles had to wait for nearly 30 minutes to enter Souq Waqif from where the Arabian roundabout once stood, only to find the car park full. Although the car park was full, tickets were issued by the machine to enter the parking lot situated towards Msheireb, people had to collect them and enter the parking area as there is no alternative to exit from the place. Many vehicles were forced to enter the parking lot and exit from the next gate. “Even last week on Friday it took us more than 20 minutes to exit near the Msheireb Boutique Hotel,” said a frequent visitor to Souq Waqif. The parking lot facing Msheireb, and the other facing the Fanar Mosque together accommodate 740 cars at a time. These are paid parking spots that charge QR5 for the first hour and QR3 for every subsequent hour. However, access to the parking area opposite Fanar Mosque and near the Gold Souq is limited when public events are held at the Souq Waqif. Further, usual access to Souq Najda parking facility, which can accommodate 600 cars and used by Souq visitors, has been blocked by construction work and vehicles are forced to take the rear entrance. However, an underground parking facility is being constructed for visitors to get easier access to Souq Waqif. The multi-storey underground parking facility being built near the Souq would be able to accommodate as many as 2,000 cars at a time. The new parking facility will have several subways leading to Souq Waqif. Photo: iLoveQatar.net http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/qatar/265369/parking-woes-irk-visitors-to-souq-waqif

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