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.

I think my idea could work but it would require people to share

can I have a please instead

Yes 2shoes there you go my lovely

brass it doesn't, honest I did post about it earlier.
our local sainsburys have shared disabled/T&C bays and they are just full up all the time.
and don't forget by law a there has to be a certain amount of disabled bays(thank god)
so imo it is a way of supermarkets bending the law.

imo p&c bays are very usefull for lots of reasons. but DB are a necesecity (can not spell that_

Memoo have 2

thank you kind 2shoes

but at my supermarket it used to work and now it doesn't and there are always queues and always empty disabled bays!! I could understand if they were actually being utilised.

I think this is the longest thread I've done. I left a funny merkin thread to concentrate on this.

I've been away from MN for a few days (temporary house move and no internet access) and it is almost reassuring to find this thread - it's a marker that nothing drastic has changed.
[waves to 2shoes]

brass no was just answering your question about getting carseats intocars at no point did i mention knee replacemnt candidates etc

oh and should point out that im candidate for a hipreplacement 6 weeks on crutches and spent last week in hospital after having a heart attack so yes i do understand somepeople have a need and dont have a blue badge where wubblybubbly idea would be good

I don't think I've ever posted a good idea on here before

agree that empty disabled bays are a good thing

my local sainsburys has some parent and toddler spaces towards the rear of the car park. funnily enough, in those circumstances, a lot of people decide that the bigger space is not the necessity that they thought it was, and they're always free for me.

morning! LOL this is still bubbling away.

goinground other posters were actually qualifying 'needs' which irritated me.

I'm not saying anything should happen at the expense of disabled bays. I'm saying planning should involve a solution for all not just the disabled badge holders. And lets not forget that many (over 50% from the benefit fraud stats) badges are fraudulently acquired.

These fraudulent badge holders are the ones making your life difficult not able bodied people needing to use a P&C place. I just don't get the hostility towards P&C places. It might help to call them something else as we've established that they are useful for all sorts of people.

My other point is if spaces are constantly left empty then that is BAD planning especially if another user might have benefited from it.

My mums local tesco has a whole area for P&C right outside the store but the disabled bays were across a road (kind of - a car park road IFYSWIM) and in a line away from the store.

Once when all the disabled bays were full my blue badge owning, 2 walking sticks needing grandmother parked in a P&C bay and got bellowed at by some funt because her brat would have to walk to one of the P&C spaces still available further away.

8 odd years on and this still makes me steaming

There are times of day when quite a few disabled bays may be free. Our local ASDA for instance has a big swathe of bays free at night. However, during the day, especially at weekends, they are chocca and I don't always find one to park in with my son. You can't magic them away at night, so this may give the impression that they are underused. This is the same with every single supermarket I can think of in our city.

Can the non-disabled world accept that they are not the ones to judge on this one, please?!!

Just going back to a comment earlier on this thread by natandchris

"flame me all you like guys but it seriously takes the piss when i see someone park in a disabled space with a blue badge and then they run into to shop in a hurry...hardly worthy of a space imo!"

Almost can't be bothered with this yet again but oh well. Who made you the great authority on who is disabled or not? Might that person have difficulties toilet wise and be rushing in to the store to get to the loo before accident happens (only to have to wait at the disabled loo because someone is in there with a buggy because disabled loos are for anyone, you know)

But that's a whole new thread. One I haven't seen in a while in fact. Maybe should start one

All disabilities are not visible. How many times do we need to say this? Someone may look totally normal, and even be able to rush a little out of their car. But it doesn't mean they won't spend the rest of the day utterly exhausted and unable to do anything more when they get home.

Please, please please have some empathy and some understanding. I am so very tired of this ignorance on this deja-vu thread. Luckily it's few and far between now.

2shoes - right with you :)

This is one of those very few discussions that are really clear, no debate needed really.

Posters who say too many disabled spaces or should share with P&C are morons.

Don't waste your fingers typing to them. Utter Morons.

aaagh just re-read that. Not saying that disabled persons cannot have a buggy. far from it - I did. Talking about NT people with NT dc of course. :)

Maybe there needs be option when you can get a temporary badge to that covers if someone has had serious accident or undergoing chemotherapy or had recent surgery

Ds has a blue badge and where we are trying to find a disabled parking space is hard and will get harder as mostly multi story car parks and new car won't fit in so I'll be fighting for the 5 or 6 spaces

P and c spaces pretty new and end of the day most people with dc can mange and yup wider spaces needed full stop car parks are done on the older cars where people nowadays often drive big cars mpv or 4 by 4 which are bigger .Won't be able to fit our new car in normal space if blue badge spaces are full it be either p and c space or 2 spaces

Come to Harrogate all disabled badgers ( thats not quite right is it ) and park in the multi storey near Debenhams ,i have never ever seen less than 10 free disabled spaces regardless of when i have been .

Bumpsoon our car won't fit in multistorey carparks to high

Think when they build new multistorey car parks they need to look at height of vehicles nowadays

and before get flamed about my choice to have a big car it's not my choice it's because need a WAV and as have other dc to get into so it's a van rather than a car

goingroundthebend4 think we have the same WAV, and agree
I can't get ito multi stories, gets on my nerves as loads of people have these WAV's now, yet the barriers are too low(same will all car parks with barriers(can't even get ito the local dump, so have to drive miles to another where they will lift barrier)

goingroundthebend4 you do find ways of fitting, I am getting good at that when I don't have dd with me and can't use a disabled bay or P&C. end bays next to road are best(you have to make sure there is space next to side door to get shopping in as you can't use read door cos of ramp or lift.

We are temporarily based in south-east London and I walked past our local supermarket and shopping centre and was a bit taken aback to see two disabled spaces next to a long row of P&C spaces, with the disabled spaces actually further away from the entrance. Clearly someone involved in planning has been suckered in by the regular chorus of indignant comparisons of the needs of an able-bodied parent of an able-bodied child, and those of a disabled person.