To think some busy car parks have an excessive amount of disabled spaces?

[coffeeforone]

Every time I go to my local Sainsbury's, i very rarely find a free Parent & Child space, or any space that is not at the very far end of the car park. I've noticed this more recently as I'm heavily pregnant and have a 2 year old so would love a P&C space. There are only 12 parent & child bays, but there are 18 disabled spaces, the vast majority of them are always free. Given the ratio of parents with young children to blue badge holders in a supermarket at any one time, would it not be more sensible to have, say 12 disabled and 18 P&C bays, or even half & half? I've noticed this in places like IKEA and other big supermarkets too (but haven't actually counted the bays!)

Get your shopping delivered, unless you're one of those obsessives who likes to pick their own apples (spoiler alert: they bring the same apples to my house as are available in the shop).

I mean, sure, go to the supermarket if you enjoy it, but it's plainly an issue for you, and it NEVER is for me. £36 for my annual delivery pass from Tesco (Tues-Thurs).

I spend 10m doing my order and 10m getting it in.

And never will I ever bleat on about P&C spaces when I have kids.

Maybe the requirement for percentage per space has gone up, or has become better enforced?

I admit i do notice lots of empty BB spaces while cruising around for a space lately, but that's a good thing. Logically, if you never saw empty one's it would mean there weren't enough.

Bloody disabled people get everything handed to them on a plate don't they? Of course you should not have to be mildly inconvenienced for a couple of minutes

Ikea had the great idea to try out making BB/PC spaces into 1 space.

They soon realised there mistake when all the spaces were always full and disabled could not get spaces at all.

wow op so you are jealous of disabled people......classy

Apologies to all of those I have offended. Certainly wasn't my intention. A few people have mentioned government legislation/minimum requirements which likely explains so many empty spaces.

Of course there should ALWAYS be spaces available for BB holders. Maybe it would be more effective if car park operators were required to monitor the actual utlilisation of BB bays, and increased the number of BB spaces if needed (as some poster say there are car parks that don't always have spaces), or decreased them (to perhaps 200% of maximum usage level).

so op you want them decreased.??? WTF

I've 2 young children, if there is a p&c space free it's useful, if there isn't i just have to park a bit more carefully. My cousin has a life-limiting disability if there isn't a blue badge space she often has to drive away without doing her shopping. There ought to always be a free blue badge space needs one its avaialble.

You’ll ‘need’ a p&c space for a short period of time. I’ll need a disabled parking space for the next 60+ years.
So kindly fuck off.

You know how hard you find it to find a suitable parking spot with your kids that you chose to have? Imagine it but you didn’t chose it and instead of a buggy you need a wheelchair for your kid or yourself.
Stop being so bloody ignorant and selfish.

Parent and child spaces are a courtesy, and they shouldn’t be placed near the entrance anyway; they should be at the back of the car park with a lot of room and a safe walk way to the store.

I mean adjust the BB spaces to 200% of maximum usage level. So there are always at least twice as many disabled spaces than are being used. This would mean increasing the number of spaces in some car parks and reducing some in others.

Legislation dictates the number of spaces. It may seem like a lot to someone who doesn't need one ( yet) but it's really good to have plenty. Nothing worse than driving around trying to find somewhere to park that will work for a wheelchair user! But not all blue badge holders require a wheelchair, they still have the right to use them though

I wish they'd stuff all the parent and child places at the far end of the car park, well away from the entitle people who think they HAVE to park nearest the store so circle like vultures around the few non-labelled places - just in range of where small child will run into the path of said cars from the P&C spaces while parent struggles extracting second small child from car. Would solve the issue.

OP you must be in the only supermarket in the UK that has empty BB spaces regularly.

Like the rest of the BB holders here, my relative often finds all the BB spaces are full.

Just because they're free when you go doesn't mean that there's not loads of times they're full and disabled people struggle to park. Shall we get rid of some of the P&C spaces for those times?

When I shop I'd say at least once a week I have to keep circling and wait for a disabled space.

Just because in one car park at a few certain times there are lots of spaces doesn't make this the norm and all you poor struggling people with children should have some of them.

Yes, if there are frequently a glut of blue spaces, it's being mis-labelled. Some posters have missed this salient point in the rush to be woke.

Oh goody, another one who is jealous of disabled people getting something ‘extra’. Apparently all you disabled people are just ‘woke’. Now stop being silly and choosing to be disabled, just to appear woke. 🙄

I get how annoying it is when there are no P&C spaces, but I would never in a million years begrudge BB spaces.

BB spaces are essential. There should be plenty of them to ensure that people with a disability can always access a suitable parking bay.

I actually think that more are required, and the criteria for having a B.B. ought to be a little less restrictive.

Would you like your children to have my children's autism and blue badge? I'd gladly make life easier for my children if they could swap.

I'm sure at dinner time there's a bazillion P&C spaces available as Junior is at home getting dinner so the spaces aren't much in use. If we all moaned that we visited Sainsburys then and they were always empty so should be got rid of we'd some across as both foolish and selfish.

The no of disabled spaces is set by the council based on things like size of store and make up of local population. I would suggest choosing the time you go better for P&C spaces. e.g. go at 3pm and many Mums heading for school rather than shopping - go at 3.30 and you are snookered no chance as they call in on the way home etc

Op, where the heck do you live?
I live in London and if I get a bb space straight away, I feel like I've won the lottery

I regularly struggle to find a disabled bay to park in at our local supermarket.

I find it strange that at our Sainsburys there are a number of regular parking spaces that are the same size as the BB ones and closer to the door, but the BB holders still park in the BB spaces in preference.