When Ammar Al Hayek couldn\u2019t even get to his own showroom, he knew things were looking bad for his business.<\/p>\n
The Hayek Electric Company started by his father is based in the first tower building constructed on Mina Street and has been doing business since before the road was sealed off.<\/p>\n
Thanks to a reputation earned over 30 years, the lighting company had survived the financial crisis of 2008 and then the start of roadworks associated with the construction of what became the Sheikh Zayed Tunnel.<\/p>\n
Then came the day, midway through the tunnel construction, when he arrived at work and discovered that the road layout had been revised yet again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2010 they closed this street temporarily. Even we didn\u2019t know how to get here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe lost most of our customers. Business would be down to 40 per cent of what it was, something like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusiness is still flat. Other companies took our customers and to bring them back isn\u2019t easy. I don\u2019t think business will come back to 100 per cent but I hope we reach 70-80 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Variations of this story \u2013 of how the roadworks devastated business and how owners are having to woo back customers who began shopping elsewhere \u2013 can be heard from many of the companies along Mina Street and Salaam Street.<\/p>\n
But there another aspect to the stories is also emerging. As the area wakes from a long hibernation caused by the tunnel construction, shop owners are discovering that Abu Dhabi itself has changed.<\/p>\n
Since construction began, a bus service has established itself, regulated paid parking has been introduced, small industry \u2013 such as carpentry shops \u2013 has been moved to Mussaffah, the corner groceries have had to upgrade to international standards and there has been a crackdown on illegal flat sharing.<\/p>\n
The cumulative effect is a dramatic change to the nature of the communities compared with the ones that were there when tunnel construction began.<\/p>\n
For Samir Sheikh, an Indian who runs a computer shop on a backstreet off Salaam Street, the roadworks are not the main reason why his business has struggled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bigger thing isn\u2019t the tunnel. It\u2019s people who left because they have cars,\u201d he says. \u201cAnyone who had a car left for Mussaffah. You can say half the people left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mawaqif arrived in the area midway through the tunnel construction. At night, most of the parking in the area is reserved for residents, but anyone who was illegally sharing an apartment was unable to get a resident\u2019s permit, which allowed them to park in the area at night all year for a flat fee of Dh800. They were forced to either park outside the area or, as many have, move elsewhere.<\/p>\n
This is exactly what the Department of Transport sought when it introduced regulated parking, since it was one of the indirect ways to ensure that inner-city apartments were occupied by only a single family.<\/p>\n
The unintended consequence for those running businesses in the area, however, is that as the density of people plummeted, so too did the population of potential customers for people like Mr Sheikh.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re staying here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another small businessman in the backstreets, Hafiz Mushtaq, of Saloon Hafiz, agreed with what Mr Sheikh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the tunnel, here it was good work. Now it\u2019s not good, work is down, and people are going outside,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen a customer goes, they don\u2019t come back. It\u2019s been four or five years. It\u2019s a problem. It\u2019s very much a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the tunnel, people would drive here. Before Mawaqif was created, it was good, but now with Mawaqif, it\u2019s getting too much problem. They\u2019re not finding parking. They are driving around and around for an hour.\u201d The alterative, he pointed out, was to park illegally and risk a Dh500 fine.<\/p>\n
The manager of a large retail operation that faces Salaam Street, said the reopening of the street after the tunnel construction had not prompted a return of business.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s the lack of parking which is the main thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, there was parking at the front side and the back side. Now there\u2019s only parking at the back side. It means little business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Salaam Street was revamped, the store was on a slip road with diagonal parking on both sides directly outside its main entrance. Now there is a drop-off site beside the main road where anyone who leaves their car there while shopping will earn a Dh500 fine.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Mawaqif, there were too many cars here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Parking was now more orderly but there were fewer spaces and the ones that are there \u201care always full\u201d.
\n\u201cOur customers are going. They come around and if there isn\u2019t any parking then they go.
\n\u201cOur business isn\u2019t like it was before. Business is a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
But some businesses have managed to bounce back. India Palace restaurant was as devastated as many other businesses after it became effectively inaccessible because of a combination of the roadworks and the crush of traffic that was diverted on to other streets in the Tourist Club area.<\/p>\n
The restaurant manager, known as Praveen K?K (\u201cMy last name is very long\u201d), said at its worst the restaurant was down to 40 per cent of its pre-tunnel turnover.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no access to come here. There was too much congestion, too much traffic and no parking,\u201d he said. \u201cBusiness went down by 60 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eighty per cent of their business came from \u201clocal Arabic people\u201d, for which they managed to retain a customer base by increasing the number of home deliveries.<\/p>\n
The other 20 per cent came from fans of Indian food who journeyed from outside that part of town to eat there. That part of their trade completely disappeared during the roadworks.<\/p>\n
But he said business has now built back up to pre-tunnel levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the road opened, it\u2019s slowly, slowly picking back up again. Now it\u2019s like normal business again.
\n\u201cOur customers came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike the retail business described earlier, India Palace retained parking directly outside in the revamped road design.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the day and until 9pm, it\u2019s easy to find parking here. We\u2019re open until midnight each day and it gets busy at about 8-9pm, when the parking is only for residents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt night time it\u2019s very difficult to find parking at the back side because it\u2019s residential and it fills up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Al Hayek hopes that in time he will also be able to bring his family lighting business back to its pre-tunnel levels, but said the nature of the community has changed since tunnel construction began.<\/p>\n
The themes he lists \u2013 the chaos of the roadworks, the ongoing difficulties of parking in the Mawaqif era and the consequent changes in the nature of the communities \u2013 echo those of owners of businesses both big and small.<\/p>\n
His company provides high-end lighting fixtures and so is less dependent on trade from the immediate neighborhood, but Mr Al Hayek had noticed that the nature of the community in the area had changed. Before tunnel construction began, he said, there were more families living in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bachelors have stayed but the families have left,\u201d he said. \u201cThe places that closed around here were groceries or cafeterias. Everyone has been here for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The availability of parking became such an issue that Mr Hayek\u2019s company hired a driver to park customers\u2019 cars, but even that was not enough to stop the loss of trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had customers saying they came here, couldn\u2019t find parking and left,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the morning there is parking, but in the evening, no way. After 5pm it\u2019s very difficult to find a park. Most of the customers come in the evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven before it wasn\u2019t easy … but someone could park their car and come to see the showroom. Now they park their car and they get a Dh500 fine, which they have to add to the cost of the chandelier.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Ammar Al Hayek couldn\u2019t even get to his own showroom, he knew things were looking bad for his business. The Hayek Electric Company started by his father is based in the first tower building constructed on Mina Street and has been doing business since before the road was sealed off. Thanks to a reputation …<\/p>\n