To think that there are too many disabled parking spaces?

[Vagabond]

I have just returned the Uk after a 13 year absence and cannot believe the number of disable parking spaces - everywhere. Of course, I absolutely agree that there should be spaces allotted for the disabled. But the percentage of disability spaces in any given parking lot are not commensurate with the number of disabled shoppers. I feel that this is 'tokenism' as opposed to practical planning.

BTW - I have a 'badged-up' disabled parent who completely agrees with me.

Mrsbananagrabber Why on earth wouldn't there need to be disabled spaces outside toys/babies 'r' us You can be a parent/pregnant and be disabled as well you know

MrsBanana disabled people get pregant and have children too. Why is it ridiculous to have 7 spaces outside Toys/Babies R Us?

If you, as a pg woman, had to waddle over, can you imagine what it would be like for a woman with a mobility problem whose centre of balance has been pushed out of wack by a pregant belly?

I am also amazed at the amount of disabled people RUNNING away from their badged up cars. According to these thread there are thousands of potential olympic sprinters with blue badges out there

'No-one needs a special space' hence the special LtEve.

Just astonished at the ridiculous lack of empathy by some of the posters on here. Lots of bitter vitriol about 'needs'.

Clearly planners get it wrong sometimes as many examples have been given. Surely everyone that needs more space should have access to it? That's more progressive and humane than postulating who is more important.

Who are you to deny or qualify other people's needs. This isn't a squabble about the able bodied vs the disabled (even though some of you are trying to drag it there) it's about parking spaces!

yabu you obviously have never spent anytime with a disabled person and understood the difficulties faced daily.

OP has a disabled parent.

I have a disabled grandparent.

why not? what use are EMPTY disabled spaces? You would actually rather it sat empty with the odd tumbleweed rolling across it than someone with small children using it? That makes no sense to me!

You don't need to patronise me about the day to day difficulties. No one is denying that so don't see how that's relevant.

I guess I'm struggling with the disabled OR NOTHING mentality. There's no logic there whatsoever.

pombear anyone????

What on earth do you mean, disabled or nothing?

An empty disabled space is a good thing. It means there is a space available for someone with a blue badge. If all the disabled spaces were always full, that'd leave a lot of people who were unable to go to the shops/town centre/ other destination.

If you made disabled spaces 'parents can park here too' disabled people wouldn't stand a chance.

It's not that hard to understand the difference, is it? P&G parking is a nice extra, disabled spaces are essential (and a legal requirement).

P&C

nice.

predictable tosh as usual;
so disabled bays out side toys are us.... well dd is disabled and shock fucking horror when younger she actually used to want to go there(terrible I know) so we needed a disabled bay.
I think the idea of p&c bays being joint with disabled bays is crap, having sat waiting for one of those once(as no way could I get dd out of a car and into a wheelchair(she was about 9 at the time) in a small space, I watched as mummy and daddy with a tiny baby in arms, strolled back to the bay!!

LOL this is beyond ridiculous!

'An empty disabled space is a good thing'

At all costs with absolutely no regard for anyone else even if in some places these spaces are over subscribed and badly planned and therefore mostly unused and where a shared space would make it easier for others.

OK then. I've learnt something today.

"others" by that I take it you mean you
maybe using dd's wheelchair would make it easier for you as well#bloody hell
can't disabled people have one sodding thing to help them.

herbie I don't believe in god.

Toys-R-us is liked by disabled children as well as able-bodied children. What kind of thinking is behind the assumption that you don't need 7 disabled bays at such a shop? Interested....

Not everyone who has difficulty walking or getting in/out of a car has a blue badge. The rules are very strict and temporary disablement doesn't count. No argument with that.

However, having had a mastectomy and chemotherapy I found the P&C spaces a life saver during that period in my life.

The same goes for my Mother, who had to have her knee replaced. Not permanent, no blue badge but very difficult for her to walk far or get in and out of the car. She relied on taking her out to the shops with DS, so we could use the P&C spaces. She would have been housebound otherwise.

I would never abuse a disabled space and I don't use the Parent spaces, but the toys r us ones are hardly ever used and the other spaces are across a busy road, it's an odd set up, but like I said it doesn't bother me at all, and for the record I park far away most of the time because I like the walk.

brass-your idea of sharing disabled and P+C to ensure spaces are not left empty ideas might sound nice in theory but I think when put into practice it would fail miserable and you'd create situations where disabled people couldn't get the parking spaces that are so essential to them.
Personally I'd do away with Parent and child spaces

donkeyderby we must be terrible people, how dare we take our disabled chidren to toys r us,

oh fuck me, i should never have taken dh xmas shopping for the kids toys in toys r us when he was on an artificial heart. fuckity fuck

Ha, talk about running away with an idea and turning it into something it isn't, can't remember saying disabled children shouldn't go to toys us us, but that must have been what I really meant eh, what a twat I am