AIBU to suggest parent and child spaces should be changed?

[Timandra]

It feels like it would be better to just have wider parking spaces for anyone who needs to use them, rather than spaces for specific people who then get wound up because someone else needs or chooses to use one.

They should be away from the door so people don't use them if they don't need them, preferably in places where you can get to the side of the building relatively easily and walk along a safe path to the door.
There should be as many of these wider spaces as possible to reduce competition while still providing adequate parking.

Blue badge spaces should stay near the door as usual with lots of normal sized spaces around them.

Then everyone can choose whether they need the wider space or to be close to the door. I think few people would be in desperate need of both and won't qualify for a blue badge.

A new retail park near me has added disabled spaces in blue..and rather than parent child spaces, they have included a load of 'A' Spaces in purple. It means accessible spaces and are there for anyone who needs them.

Those P&C spaces by the door are a godsend to those with "spirited" children and/or "runners". Leave them where they are.

YABU. The whole thing would be filled to the brim with precious Audis.

Keep p&c spaces- the issue is not the spaces its the a$$holes who use them without reasons, namely white van drivers at my supermarket ! (and i do think most people with common sense can see if someone without a child needs to use such a space)

People with young kids need the wider space but also easier to be nearer the entrance.

"Those P&C spaces by the door are a godsend to those with "spirited" children and/or "runners". Leave them where they are."

Why don't the parents hold onto their child to stop them running off. How do they manage near roads? I still have to hold onto my 13 year old so I am sure it can be done with a younger child.

Those P&C spaces by the door are a godsend to those with "spirited" children and/or "runners". Leave them where they are.

Those spaces were also a godsend to disabled people.

This new habit of placing P&C spaces closer to the door than disabled spaces says it all about the attitude toward people with disabilities imo.

I had a member of staff approach me the other day because I was in a P&C space with my 16yo DD. Apparently they are for 'young children'. Given that she drops to the ground without warning because of her disability I'll be damned if she's crossing a road from the disabled bays because of a marketing ploy.

I think ALL parking spaces should be much wider with disabled spaces nearest to the door. I love going to Costco as they allow plenty of room (I appreciate it's a warehouse so people buy more stuff).

So many big cars around so they should definitely make spaces bigger. It would be nice if people couldn't accidentally damage your door when opening it and then drive off without paying for the damage.

oops wrong link. No idea what happened there.
Will report post.

dissolve.com/stock-photo/Car-park-viewed-above-cars-parked-herringbone-pattern-royalty-free-image/101-D869-26-639

It's ghastly that P&C spaces are closer to the supermarket doors than disabled spaces. Utterly frustrating and clearly all marketing.

It's also pisspoor lazy unimaginative typically disablist design.

I'll keep posting this until someone takes notice, but the best blue badge parking I've seen was in an ASDA in Cornwall. In order to get to the BB spaces you had to drive through the entire car park - they literally were the last spaces you reached. However they were also right in front of the store (and handily overseen by the security post).

I was so intrigued that I mentioned it to the security guard who replied that it must do something as he'd never seen any abuses.

Total design cost = whatever a few lines of paint cost.

The loss of capacity to make wider spaces would probably be less problematic than you think as less spaces would be wasted by poor parking, and a proportion of spaces too mean for the majority of vehicles to use (a tree cutting the corner ot hemmed in next to a trolley park).

There is a case for Transit size spaces at larger car parks as these take up multiple spaces in one go.

I think there is a case for P&C spaces being close. Struggling with SPD postnatally, a newborn and a very tantrummy toddler, I did appreciate the reduced distance and location by pathways to minimise pain from walking and maximise safety. I used them when pregnant due to poor mobility; a moot point second time when accompanied by a toddler anyway, but valuable first time when the car door had to be open to the max to contort a huge bump and short legs into the barely sufficient space between the seat and steering wheel. By 34 weeks it was too painful to walk around the supermarket again. By 36 weeks I was too huge to sit close enough to reach the controls to drive at all. I hurt too much to continue parking at the quiet end and walk the extra distance by the end of the second trimester and the risk of someone parking too close was not worth being stranded painfully by the car too far away to get to customer services when already at the limits of my pain threshold and no chance of reaching my seat via a different door.

P&C should not be prioritised over blue badge.

All that picture shows is that Gibraltarians are no better at obeying one way markings than Brits ...

Well it was just meant to be a quick example of the layout. Poor choice on my part. But it does work very well in the US because there is always space to get the door open wide and it is very easy to get in and out of the spaces.

I think all spaces need a massive rethink. I dont know who decides their size but it doesn't fit with modern cars

My folks have a massive Kuga (Dad needs an automatic and a lift for his wheelchair. We have a Fiesta with 3 doors. Ours opens wider than thiers like all 3 door cars (forn the PP that said the wider spacs in were inahabited by Fiestas)

I remember when they first came into existence in my area. They weren't p&c spaces, they were 'elderly spaces' for elderly people who didn't qualify for blue badges. They were like that for around a year and then they all became p&c spaces. It seems that elderly customers don't bring in as much revenue as parents so got bumped out.

I’ve parked in herringbone style car parks before, and it’s not a magic cure for narrow spaces.

Admittedly it usually makes opening one of the rear doors easier, but many people have more than one child, and it’s not like everyone in the car can exit through that one door.

I think all spaces need a massive rethink. I dont know who decides their size but it doesn't fit with modern cars

The problem is most planning is skewed to deter private motoring from the off.

I get that people with children and mobility issues would prefer spaces closer to the door but I still think that a significant number would qualify for blue badges if they are long term issues.

At the moment, those spaces are often full of people who just want to be near to the door so you end up parking further away and not getting a wide space.

If the wider spaces are placed further away, I think it's important that they have good access to trolleys, particularly those with two seats and that the pathway to the store is level and safe to use with a trolley. Runners could then be put in the trolley at the car which solves the issue.

Every parking space is worth an average spend in a retail outlet per customer. They therefore want to cram in as many as possible so not all spaces will be bigger. Although I agree. I have a bigger car and nearly got stuck in the door as I was getting out the other week. I’m normal weight too.

This exact thread was literally done a month or so ago.

This exact thread was literally done a month or so ago.

Very sorry. I didn't see it.