AIBU to park across two yellow disabled parking bays

[Worrysaboutalot]

AIBU to park across two yellow disabled parking bays, when :-

1. I have a blue badge
2. The private carpark owners told me to do so.
3. It is the only way to safely park in that location.

The reason being, their car park yellow spaces only have side hatching and no back hatching. So if I was to park my large car into one of their yellow spaces, I would have to hoist my powerchair directly onto a busy car parks road.

They have yellow spaces in sets of four at several locations in their carpark. (labelled D in green on the picture, S in blue are standard parking spaces) The purple car is their suggested place I should park, so I can safely hoist my chair into position marked with a purple cross.

There are 3000 car parking spaces in total on this site, with many yellow spaces but all set up as above in sets of four at the end of every row.

However it worries me for two reasons. 1. I am using a second space and that means I might be preventing another blue badge owner from parking and 2. I am worried that my car might be damaged because of the 'bad parking' and I am only leasing it, it needs to be returned in a good condition.

Any suggestions? As I have many reasons that I need to park at this location and this is the only carpark.

With all the above taken into account, AIBU to park as suggested?

No, yanbu. If I were worried I would print two big signs saying 'I was told to park across both spaces by the car park operator' and put in front and rear window, to avoid getting any grief.

Sorry you have all this hassle - the spaces don;t seem very well designed!

@picturesandpickles

No, yanbu. If I were worried I would print two big signs saying 'I was told to park across both spaces by the car park operator' and put in front and rear window, to avoid getting any grief.

Sorry you have all this hassle - the spaces don;t seem very well designed!

Good idea. If I end up parking there, I am definitely doing the signs in the front and back windows!

Sign sounds like a good idea. Could you ask to put the car park owner's number on the sign? So you don't get any nonsense.

I would take up two spaces and display a note to say that you require safe access at the rear of your vehicle for your wheelchair hoist.

A sign sounds a great idea. I don't think anyone would mind. I'd put one on the back too saying access is required just so it's really clear.

I would contact the owner of the carpark and ask if they would consider remarking some spaces for improved accessibility. However, in the meantime, the have suggested a reasonable adjustment so you wouldn't be unreasonable to do as they have suggested.

I could add the carpark owners number to a sign, I am sure they wouldn't mind.

The carpark owners were surprised that no one had mentioned this issue to them before and are they are now planning to put signs up to say that blue badge owners driving cars with wheelchair hoists can park across two bays. But said these signs will take a while to be approved, ordered and installed. I was pleasantly surprised at their quick response!

In the meantime I should park as directed, they have my number plate and their parking inspectors will not ticket me for parking like that. But I worry... a lot.

@Purpleweeks

I would contact the owner of the carpark and ask if they would consider remarking some spaces for improved accessibility. However, in the meantime, the have suggested a reasonable adjustment so you wouldn't be unreasonable to do as they have suggested.

I asked them to make some spaces with back hatching but they can't as they have to have a certain ratio of yellow spaces to blue spaces and this particular centre is surrounded on all sides, so no space for more spaces. Which is annoying but understandable.

Yanbu.

It's an absolute national disgrace that most disabled spaces are wider to allow for the space to open the door but never longer to allow for tail lifts, ramps and hoists.

Every place that has disabled spaces should have some specifically for WAVs that are larger in size.

Well done this company for offering you a solution that keeps you safe.

Let's hope in the future we move forward and just provide sensible spaces to meet the actual needs of disabled people.

I've had to park in P &C spaces with ds and his BB before when the disabled spaces don't have the wide hatched areas because he needs the car door open to actually be able to get out!

YANBU at all and that is how I have to park sometimes, if a carpark is so busy, particularly when spaces are on a corner, that I have to load up in the roadway.

It is an absolute pain in the arse trying to rear load wheelchairs, I have been beeped at, shouted at, I once threw a strop and sat in the middle of the road way outside Waitrose refusing to move as some total bitchh revved her engine and honked at me as I was trying to line up my wheels with the ramp (I was extremely close to rolling round to her car to confront her but common sense kicked in through the red mist!).

You need two spaces, then thats what you need, there are other spaces for other wheelchair users and you've been told you won't be ticketed so crack on and enjoy :D

YANBU.
Can I also say how refreshing your communication with the car park owners seems to be. It sounds like they’ve responded quickly and appropriately to your concerns. I know in this day and age, that should be the norm, but it’s not, so it’s heartwarming to hear that a business owner has been so responsive.

What's a car park road? The drivable bit of the car park?

YANBU, I'm surprised this is not a more regular problem for you actually. I would maybe go a bit further back than the purple box so it's really, REALLY obvious that you are occupying the rear space. You see vans parked across 2 spaces lengthwise regularly.

I've seen vans and vans/cars with trailers parked like this, fairly often actually, so if they can do it then people with physical need to should be ok doing it.

@3Britnee

What's a car park road? The drivable bit of the car park?

Yes

I thought exactly what @AFS1 said. They’ve been brilliant. I know you shouldn’t have to ask, but sometimes things can be overlooked. Well done car park people.

@Singalongasong

YANBU, I'm surprised this is not a more regular problem for you actually. I would maybe go a bit further back than the purple box so it's really, REALLY obvious that you are occupying the rear space. You see vans parked across 2 spaces lengthwise regularly.

I am new to having a chair and only been out in the car with hand adaptions 5 times.

It is all new for me.

The whole point of disabled parking is so people like you can park in an accessible way to use your wheelchair. Of course you should use 2 spaces if you need to. Their bad design is not your fault. Please don't fret about what other people think

@AFS1 I thought they were very good. Their management office is based at this location, they clearly manage this site in a very hands on way.

I requested help with my problem yesterday and they rang up today with this solution! Very impressive.

My Dad had this problem as he has a wheelchair hoist.

I would park nose into the second space with the back of your car facing outward of the space but obviously with enough space for access to your hoist.

If you park wtih the back of the car into the second space you risk someone with a small car parking right up to your back end

That must be so scary the first few times in particular. Do what you need to do, give yourself plenty of space and don't feel you have to apologise to anyone.

But the ‘ratio’ is your answer right there. Call me cynical, but I doubt it’s just bad design, it makes financial sense. They put 4 yellow disabled spaces where it should for accessibility reasons be 2-3 so they could on paper fulfil their ratio (and have more blue spaces overall - more spaces= more money). And even though they are nice to you, they are not actually changing their ways, they just allow you two spaces as and when. It looks nice, but they are still quids in. I know this should not be your fight at all, and I am happy you got it sorted, but they are not right.

Does your car actually extend beyond the parking space without the hoist lowered? If so, then I can see that being sort of the only option.

If the vehicle fits in the spot before the hoist is lowered, I don’t think you should take a disabled spot someone else might really need too. I park nose in so the hoist goes into the “road” for a few minutes while I unload. People can wait a minute, or they can go around the other direction if they don’t want to wait. I’ve really never had a problem.

How long does it take to use your hoist. I would prefer to partially block the car park road than use another of the bays but it would depend on how busy it was and how much the road would be blocked.

My current vehicle fits just.. into a normal disabled space - but once the ramp is out and the chair lined up to the ramp, we are well out of any hatched markings behind the car and into the road-way of any carpark.

So if I choose not to park like that.. my options are to either, stay in the car and not use my wheelchair or... go home. A hoist does take up a lot less room behind the car than a ramp... try loading a chair onto a narrow ramp with cars getting pissy with you or flying round corners and slamming on brakes. I definitely have had issues doing this.

I know someone who had their ramp run over by a bus, ruining the ramp, preventing them loading the chair at all and they had to sit and wait for assistance for hours!

I don't see how denying one person the use of disabled parking is any better than denying someone else that use...

My new vehicle (fingers x'd) will not fit into a single disabled space without overhanging the end and so the ramp and chair lined up to the ramp will be way across the road-way in a carpark - so thats going to be even more awkward as many carparks are not laid out as the OP's diagram, and there are no 'drive through' spaces where you could take up two accessible spots.

I don't really see how its any different if the vehicle fits wholly into a space or not, if you need the second space to get the hoist/ramp/chair out.. then you need it, and those spaces exist for those who need them.