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.

Gah. Just checked the website again and it actually states on the application form itself that people with a temporary disablement, like hip/knee replacement will not receive a blue badge. So not looking too good for chemo patients with a dodgy arm.

I guess it must vary by each local authority

..but disabled drivers are totally within their rights to use P&T when disabled spaces are full - no-one is going to fine them for it!

so why not have P&T ? very useful, and certainly improve my shopping experience (with 3 kids in car seats, meaning i need to open doors on both sides of the car to strap them in).

I saw a selfish git pulling into a disabled space without a blue badge yesterday. Very satisfying that our community copper was right there, saw him, and gave him what for. Hope the guy thinks twice before doing it ever again.

AS I said earlier, P&T makes my life easier by so much- it's not either or and I would never ever mind a person with a blue badge parking there before me.

Here theya re looking at pink badges; first mooted as for pg women they now seem to be a temporary system when people need it- a great idea; when I had SPD in my last 2 pregnancies I never asked for a bue badge but could have benefitted from some provision. It wasn't permanent though- sometimes awful sometimes OK- so no DLA system would ahve acknowledged it.

i was arguing for both P&T and disabled spaces to exist. Not mixed spaces.

there should be a systemic priority to the blue badge holder.

and frankly the fact that some people are twunts who like to abuse others without good reason is unlikely to be changed by an alteration to parking arrangements.

Well the car parks round here are pretty hot on dishing out fines (especially Sainsbury) if you're so much as 5 seconds late back to your car. I'm surprised they miss an opportunity to fine non badged cars in disabled bays.

And I don't understand why some councils issue temporary badges and not others. It needs to be a centralised system because the way it's done at the moment means that you're disabled in one borough but not another.