Another disabled parking one

[RussellTheRaven]

My local Aldi has recently been refurbished. It was closed for a while and has reopened. The car park has had the lines all repainted as part of the face lift.

Buildings above x size have to have x% (i think it's 5%) accessible parking spaces.

Aldi is in the right as far as I know. My AIBU is about the location of accessible bays, marked as disabled bays. There are more P&C bays than disabled bays. That's fine. It's not against the law.

But shouldn't the disabled bays be the closest ones to the entrance? AIBU to be annoyed that every P&C bay is closer to the store entrance than the disabled bays?

Not every disabled person is in a wheelchair. People seem to think it's ok, we will just roll up those extra few meters. But many people with disabilities have difficulty walking, but don't use wheelchairs. This really sucks and I won't go back there now.

Looks like Aldi have their priorities spot on then, parents convenience before the disabled's accessibility.

I would happily park in the p and c spaces then. As a blue badge holder you park in the space most convenient

YANBU, that is bonkers. Disabled spaces should absolutely be closest to the entrance. P&C spaces should be at the far end of the car park where people aren't tempted to park in them if they don't need to.

Disabled parking spaces should definitely be closer to the shops, unless there is a reason they are further away which makes it easier for disabled

I complained about the same thing to Tesco - my mum is 87 and struggles to walk far. Sometimes she cant get back to the car from the store and I have to prop her up against something and leave her on her own.

They said that they were following guidance as far as I can remember.

I cannot see why the disabled spaces should be further away than P & C but no doubt someone will be along to tell us why.

I just hope that when someone does enlighten us that they think about the few minutes of absolute worry and dread that I have leaving my old mum, propped up against the wall and unable to breathe or walk anywhere

I have an 11 month old, and still rarely use parent and child. I only passed in feb so when on my own I park the furthest away from cars

That’s terrible ceecee82 your poor mum, that definitely needs addressing

P&c spaces do not need to be close to shop, they need space for doors to open fully, and a safe route to shop.
I'd park in the P&c space if I were you

definitely parent spaces should be at the far end of the car park, though they do have an additional disabled space finction in some places.

our aldi is worse. 3 disabled spaces, and a bloody staff member parked in one of them. (i am prestty sure they are not disabled themselves. )

Yep, disabled parking spaces should be closer to the shop, but that's not a legal requirement.
I'd just park in a P&C space.
Also, I know you mean well, and are talking about disabled people yourself so you won't mind when I ask you to say that, as opposed to, "the disabled".
I'm sure you know we are not a homogeneous lump.

In the latter years of his life, my grandfather (who had emphysema and only had one functioning lung, thanks to damage to his breathing sustained during his service in WWII, followed by TB) had a BB - which we, as a family INSISTED on, even though he didn't want it - because he could barely walk the length of himself. And yes, convincing him to use a motorised shopping trolley once inside the supermarket was a lark...

I would be most put out to see P&C spaces (which are, at best, a marketing tool) prioritised over disabled spaces.

I wonder what your local MP/newspaper might have to say about this?

The reason P&C spaces are located near to an entrance is to prevent kids running out in front of cars / having to wrangle multiple kids across a busy car park. There’s still no way they should be closer than B.B. spaces though.

When I had a car and Blue Badge I would always park in the space nearest to the store which sometimes meant parking in a P&C space. I wouldn't give it a second thought.

I'd park in the P&C spaces then and stick the blue badge up.

Thinking about it, my local newish Aldi has its BB spaces further than the P&C spaces as well. And there are less. As it happens, I don't shop there often as they don't have wheelchairs for customers, so getting a wheelchair in and out the car and having to pack shopping around it isn't worth the hassle.

So they’ve put convienience over need. I’d shop somewhere else tbh

Nothing to really add regarding the parking sauces,but your comment 'Not every disabled person is in a wheelchair' struck a chord with me. I am a registered disabled person with quite bad mobility problems,but not to the sent that I use a wheelchair. I get heartily sick of a lot of people's attitude that you are either 100 per cent fit able bodied,or you're totally unable to walk and in a wheelchair,there is nothing in between. I experienced this not long ago when I was making an online hotel booking. I had emailed them asking about the type of shower in the hotel room,saying I was disabled and had trouble using certain types of shower. Back came the reply,saying they were assuming I was in a wheelchair. No,I am not,I use one,or sometimes 2 walking sticks. Why always this assumption?

YANBU. I'm in a wheelchair and I'd park myself in a P&C bay. I'm tired of people acting like being a parent is some new disability and they have rights over the world. I'm a parent and disabled and honestly it makes me sick.

Park in the P&C bay. Or (if you can at all) just avoid going there.

Sickening to think that marketing has triumphed need (to quote another PP).

I'm not planning on going in again, but hate cutting my nose off to spite my face.

It's interesting another PP has a similar set up at Aldi. It must be policy as it is very deliberate at this store. The old car park had 6 bays, 3 at the front then 6 P&C spaces and then another 3 disabled spaces. They've now reconfigured it and have 12 P&C spaces, all at the front, and 6 disabled spaces running along the side of the store. To get to the front, you have to walk, or mobilise, past all 12 P&C bays. As someone with chronic pain, I count every step. Every step saved is pain saved IME.

Sauces?! FFS that should have said issues.

Definitely write to them. Sounds like someone has messed up as ours has the blue badge spaces near to store then parent and child

Possibly they are trying to keep parents, who are likely to be spending more money than a disabled person happy. Keep complaining!

this is what it's like at my local tesco (built a few years ago) - it's ridiculous