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City Centre Bahrain aims to dispel parking misery endured by visitors since its opening with a series of high-tech solutions to take the angst out of the shopping experience, writes Mai Al Khatib-Camille.
Despite boasting 4,800 parking spaces in its multi-storey parking facility, the popular mall appears to have been a victim of its own success with thousands of drivers heading each day towards its array of shops, restaurants, attractions and movie screens.
This week the Majid Al Futtaim property formally introduced its latest car park guidance system and lighting technologies which will allow shoppers to identify free spaces and easily locate their vehicles.
Duaij Khalifa Al Rumaihi, City Centre Bahrain’s senior mall manager, said: “Customer feedback has demonstrated that the parking experience has a direct influence on the overall quality of a shopping mall trip.
“Hence, Majid Al Futtaim is making it easier to find parking spaces and locate the vehicle through a new and innovative parking guidance system, which is a first of its kind in Bahrain.”
The LED lighting system, located on the ceiling of the car park lanes, will enable guests to find available parking. A green light indicates an available space; a blue light means the spot is allotted for the disabled and a red light means that the space is occupied.
Aside from a state-of-the-art lighting guide, there will be kiosks located at mall gates, except on the rooftop space, which will help customers easily find their vehicles after a day’s shopping, watching a movie or dining at the mall.
To find their ride, shoppers can enter a plate number onto the touch-screen kiosk and the vehicle details will appear. They can even print the location map to identify which floor it’s on and exactly where it is parked. Eventually, at a later stage, a mobile app will be created in order to make the car hunt even simpler.
There will also be 12 park assist guides on hand to offer their support when needed.
The mall is also tackling the problem of selfish parkers taking up more than one allotted space. A note will be left by security guards on the vehicle asking the visitor to report to the management office and the offending license plate number will be kept on record.
Mr Al Rumaihi said the mall is continuing to pilot new technologies which he believes will further address any convenience and accessibility issues to improve the overall shopping experience with a concentrated ambition to ‘create great moments, for everyone, every day’.
