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!)

I think that usage must vary regionally. Our local supermarket car park is usually full, not a space to be found - except for 30 or so disabled spaces, which are permanently empty. It most certainly has crossed my mind that they've made a mistake somewhere with the ratio of BB spaces to general spaces.

Obviously it's vitally important that there are sufficient BB spaces available for the disabled to use. But when 30 or so BB spaces are empty day in, day out in an otherwise crowded car park something has gone wrong, surely?

In my local shopping centre there is an asda and a Sainsbury's. Both supple bb and p&c bays. One has a row of bb bays at the door and 3/4 of a row of p&c bays in the next row. The other store has a separate bb carpark at the doors and about 10 p&c bays about a 2 min walk from the store (apart from getting from the bay to the path it is completely secure to be able to walk with a toddler) guess which one always has bays and which always has people arguing. As a parent I can appreciate the wider bays, but id rather park further away from the store than need a bb.

I have a bb.

At certain times there are lots of free spaces. But at other times even a tesco with loads of bb spaces can fill up.

I understand it can be frustrating to see loads of empty bb spaces when there are no p&c, but not as frustrating as it is for a disabled person to not get a bb spaces because it's Xmas, or morning and all the pensioners are out or any other busy time.

When my children were younger if there was a P&C place it wasn't the end of the world we parked elsewhere and I was super careful getting the kids in their seats in my 3 door car.
My 50year old husband has a disability when we go to asda if there isn't a disabled space ( which happens too much for my liking) I have to park where I can and he has to decide if he can manage the walk into the store or if he has to stay in the car he usually has to stay in the car.

When I go shopping I can find every space empty but come out 10 minutes later and every space is full. Give it another 15 minutes and it can be empty again.

I'll say is again, please try to follow along - just because when YOU go shopping there are lots of spaces doesn't mean that's how it is all day, everyday.

I'm sure some eejit will claim they know for sure that they are empty 99% of the time because reasons. This eejit will be a liar.

The supermarkets near me all have a huge number of bb spaces. Near half the front of the sainburys car park is disabled spaces. They are always empty save about 3 cars.

I don’t particularly care about p&c spaces though, they’re nice if you get one but not a necessity

Perhaps busineses that regularly have a lot of empty BB spaces should ask what other barriers there might be for people accessing their services and work on those

Maybe disabled people in your locality have some sense and don't want to battle their way around the supermarket when it's so busy that the car park is full.

I also find if you time it right you can go when it is more likely to get a p&c bay, normally 8.55 and 3.05 where I live as alot of local people are picking up their other children from school.

Yeah why should disabled people have special spaces? They have wheelchairs don’t they? Flaming liberty.

You are also BU for using the word “amount” when you should say “number”.

Our local Waitrose is the only supermarket that I've seen where the P&C spaces are emptier than the BB ones
Possibly the local demographic...?

I am also a blue badge holder, I usually go quite early in the morning to my local supermarket so I can find a free disabled space. These spaces are like gold dust in my area. I wonder how I managed with children years ago before P&C were invented, now I remember, walking 2/3 miles to the shops with children in pram and then back again loaded up with shopping - happy days!

OP, you've been given a bit of a hard time here and I'm sure you didn't mean to cause the offense you did. But I suppose what you're trying to say is at any given time during the day in your average supermarket the ratio of parents with young kids to disabled badge holders is likely to weigh heavier on the parents/kids side. Which tbf is probably true. Certainly I have a very large supermarket in my town (one of these ones that are so big it could probably swallow a small village) and I've been to it at all sorts of times of day and night and it's dozens of BB spaces are usually not full up where as during the day the P&C spaces are like gold dust and certainly in our supermarket regular spaces are pretty full up too as there are also shops and restaurants in the area as well.

However, people without disabilities and even those with children have the option of driving round and round until a regular or P&C space becomes available, a BB user does not and therefore it makes sense to have a "surplus" of these spaces.

Do I prefer it when I can get a p&c space, of course it just makes it easier but I'm also quite capable of using a regular space albeit with a bit more careful awareness than a wide p&c space needs. But I'm grateful that I don't need a BB space nonetheless.

So I get what you're trying to say, but yabu to suggest p&c should get more spaces at the detriment of BB spaces.

Disabled spaces are a legal requirement for those who would struggle or be unable otherwise.

Parent and child spaces are a courtesy for those who think their ability to procreate gives them some sort of special status.

Professor What a nasty, nasty thing to wish on someone. Whatever point you might have had, you lost it there.

Car parks are designed as to quotas in building standards. These building standards are not worked out on the back of a fag packet either so there must be a reasoning behind it.

We all love a disabled or parent parking thread.

In my opinion they should do away with parent spaces, make all spaces slightly wider so anyone can remove their child from there car. This would free up space for disabled spaces. People don’t decide to become disabled, it’s not a life choice, unlike having children.

I think some of the bigger supermarket car parks do have a lot of disabled spaces, I often see them empty which can be a little frustrating when the rest of the car park is full but surely it’s better to have too many than not enough?

OP YABU because B.B. spaces should be plentiful, so that one is always available when needed.

However this is a disgusting and completely uncalled for comment:

I sincerely hope that one day you become disabled enough to need a wheelchair full time. In fact, I will wish for it daily, in case the power of karma and that cosmic ordering shite actually works.

I sincerely hope that one day you become disabled enough to need a wheelchair full time. In fact, I will wish for it daily, in case the power of karma and that cosmic ordering shite actually works

The fuck..?!

I sincerely hope that one day you become disabled enough to need a wheelchair full time. In fact, I will wish for it daily, in case the power of karma and that cosmic ordering shite actually works

Jesus. You're just as bad as the OP is making comments like that. Disgusting.

If you're not disabled you can manage the longer walk to the entrance FFS.

OP, the standards for car park planning are based on a percentage of spaces. Obviously this won't account for individual situations (perhaps you live in a town with a lower-than-average number of blue badge holders), but it's the simplest way of ensuring all places provide sufficient spaces.

I'd imagine if EVERY car park in the country was found to have far too many that were never used, the standards would be revised.

Jesus. You're just as bad as the OP is making comments like that. Disgusting.

I’m pleased that people are agreeing with me! It was said on page 1 and no one else picked up on it and it’s really fucked up

tbh I don't really see why OP is getting so much flack. She has not really said anything offensive in her argument for her opinion and she has already apologised if she has offended anyone. This overreaction is typical mn.

The issue is really why supermarkets feel the need to cram as many spaces as they can into a certain area. I understand it in built up areas where space is at a premium. But in many large out of town supermarkets a lot of the time most of the spaces on the far side of the car park are empty. They could spread cars out a bit further and make all spaces the same size. The average car size now is bigger than decades ago when many car parks were constructed. It causes congestion waiting for large cars to manoeuvre in and out of tight spaces. It would be much more efficient to spread all the spaces out and would probably result in higher capacity.

That way there should be no issue over number of disabled spaces/ parent child spaces and these can be left clear for the people who really need them. Though no doubt will always be some plonker who still parks where they should not!

I have seen multi storey car parks where the "large" car spaces are on the top floors. So people with big cars have somewhere to go and don't try and sneak into disabled or parent and child which are on the ground floor. It leaves the lower floors free for those with small, easy to park cars!