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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To find this odd ? Disabled parking spaces.

167 replies

itsgettingwierd · 20/11/2021 18:20

So today ds and I travelled to a sporting event for para sport somewhere we've not been before.

We knew there were lots of public car parks.

So we arrive, park, and I do to the machine to buy a ticket for 4-6 hours.

Note: car park is 24 hours and all ticket options available.

At the machine it says blue badge holders get 3 hours free. Fab I think and ask the attendant if I have to come back after the 3 hours to pay for the remaining time or how does it work.

Nope - I'm allowed 3 hours in the car park only. That's it.

It seemed really odd to me. My county allows 3 hours only if you park on double yellows which I've never done but all car parks you've paid as everyone does and can have as long as you need. At sports centres we've never been limited to time and it's been free like it's free to everyone.

The attendants reasoning was "to make it fair". But I don't get that. How's it's fair if you're disabled you can only stay somewhere for 3 hours but if you're able bodied you can stay all day?

I'd be happy to pay as don't think disability is a reason to need free parking - but it is a reason to need accessible parking so you can actually get out of the car!

OP posts:
DockOTheBay · 20/11/2021 19:11

@tallduckandhandsome

YANBU, that’s discrimination against disabled people as it’s forcing them to leave much earlier than able bodied people.

I would complain via letter and social media.

They aren't forced to leave earlier they can just pay for 4 hours and stay for 4 hours. Or that can stay for 3 hours and it would be free
MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry · 20/11/2021 19:11

This reply has been deleted

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knittingaddict · 20/11/2021 19:12

It's a mess obviously. My suggestion only works if you have an able bodied person with you who can move and pay the extra.

I'm not trying to be a pain. I just misunderstood the situation at first. My mum has a blue badge, so I'm not unsympathetic.

I would write to someone, may be the newspapers. You can't have been the only one to be massively inconvenienced by this.

NewPapaGuinea · 20/11/2021 19:13

There’s fewer disabled spaces so it’s to make it fair for other disabled space users so they’re not taken up all day by those who arrive first.

knittingaddict · 20/11/2021 19:13

How stupid are you?

Very obviously, but there's no need to be so rude. I'm tried and wasn't thinking. OK?

ScarlettDarling · 20/11/2021 19:13

I get what you’re saying op and the posters saying that you should come back after 3 hours and park in a regular space are being ridiculous. Think you need to make a phone call to the council. It sounds totally discriminatory to me that a disabled person can only stay 3 hours when an able bodied person can stay as long as they like.

PingedPotato · 20/11/2021 19:14

That sounds like discrimination to me. I could understand if they gave you 3 free but then you'd have to pay like everyone else but that'd not what they've done. I'd get practicing your daily fail sad face and go to the local paper.

Original poster
itsgettingwierd · 20/11/2021 19:14

@Leftbutcameback

That seems really unhelpful, especially if it’s a venue where people may well need to stay half a day or more (unlike a supermarket for example). This tends to happen when decisions are made by people who have no experience of the situation. That’s why it’s so important to employ people with disabilities (and other protected characteristics) to make sure policies are inclusive and make sense!

Can you feed back to the governing body OP who should have some say in venue choices as this one clearly isn’t suitable.

I fed back to the event organisers who are actually a para sport organisation so I do think they should have checked this prior! (I probably should have too but assumed a disability sport organisation wouldn't arrange regional training in a centre with no accessible parking for the duration!)

No where else has ever limited our parking to just 3 hours. Usually all parking at sports centres is free all day in any space.

I'm certainly checking in future and I think so will the sports body for his sport!

OP posts:
knittingaddict · 20/11/2021 19:15

Sorry, I'm tired, not tried. See, I told you I was tired.

Leftbutcameback · 20/11/2021 19:15

I think it’s one of those situations where someone has made a rule without thinking it through. Poor effort council.

PingedPotato · 20/11/2021 19:15

@NewPapaGuinea

There’s fewer disabled spaces so it’s to make it fair for other disabled space users so they’re not taken up all day by those who arrive first.
Then they need more accessible spaces not restrict those who need them so they are only allowed out for 3 hours!
Original poster
itsgettingwierd · 20/11/2021 19:17

They aren't forced to leave earlier they can just pay for 4 hours and stay for 4 hours. Or that can stay for 3 hours and it would be free

Are you deliberately missing the point? There was NO option for paying to park for longer in a disabled bay. None. Nada. Nil.

We were allowed 3 hours only.

Ds cannot get in and out of the car in a regular space because he needs the door opened fully.

We were denied options to stay in the car park like a led bodied people who can access regular spaces can.

At a sports centre car park ran by the council who take vast amounts of money for all day events from disability sport bodies 🤦‍♀️

OP posts:
karmakameleon · 20/11/2021 19:18

This would annoy me no end. Often things take longer with disabled DS so need more time even when the activity wouldn’t take so long for an able bodied person. They really haven’t thought this through.

If the reason is because there aren’t enough blue badge spaces, I have a better solution than limiting the time you’re allowed to park.

Original poster
itsgettingwierd · 20/11/2021 19:19

@knittingaddict

It's a mess obviously. My suggestion only works if you have an able bodied person with you who can move and pay the extra.

I'm not trying to be a pain. I just misunderstood the situation at first. My mum has a blue badge, so I'm not unsympathetic.

I would write to someone, may be the newspapers. You can't have been the only one to be massively inconvenienced by this.

But how does that work.

I'm abled bodied. I can move the car. Not an issue.

But what do I do? Leave ds there forever because he can't get back in?

Or leave a disabled child alone in a car park whilst I reverse out into the middle of it to get him back in?

OP posts:
Original poster
itsgettingwierd · 20/11/2021 19:20

@knittingaddict

Sorry, I'm tired, not tried. See, I told you I was tired.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm dyslexic and didn't even read it wrong 🤦‍♀️
OP posts:
knittingaddict · 20/11/2021 19:23

But how does that work.

I'm abled bodied. I can move the car. Not an issue.

But what do I do? Leave ds there forever because he can't get back in?

Or leave a disabled child alone in a car park whilst I reverse out into the middle of it to get him back in?

I've already said that I misunderstood and didn't think through my reply. My idea was shit obviously. It's a ridiculous situation and I have no advice apart from kicking up a fuss and trying to get the policies changed. I hope you succeed.

Original poster
itsgettingwierd · 20/11/2021 19:25

@karmakameleon

This would annoy me no end. Often things take longer with disabled DS so need more time even when the activity wouldn’t take so long for an able bodied person. They really haven’t thought this through.

If the reason is because there aren’t enough blue badge spaces, I have a better solution than limiting the time you’re allowed to park.

It has to be better than the one we went with.

We named it blue badge Tetris!

So there were 2 adjacent car parks that were eat/west so counted as separate.

Ds and I parked in west and the spaces were right at back at furthest point from car park.

The other family with a wheelchair user had a space in the car park outside the centre (east).

After 2.75 hours I went and got ds car. Another family who were in that car park came and moved their car into that space and sat in car. Someone else stood in their original spot (practically opposite)

I then drove to the space the other family were parked in (about 100 m down the road) we swapped.

They then drove to the space I had been in and swapped with that family who put their car back in the original space.

As we'd managed to blag unexpected free parking the entire event we both stumped up a round of coffees between us for everyone who helped with Tetris Grin

OP posts:
mrsbyers · 20/11/2021 19:26

You could have used the disabled space to allow safe exit then moved to a ‘normal’ space then moved car back to allow safe entry to car ?

nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 20/11/2021 19:27

Probably because there aren't very many disabled spaces and they don't want the same people staying in them all day, meaning that other disabled people can't use the facilities at all?

Could you park in an ordinary spot on an end so that one side if the car is always accessible?

Original poster
itsgettingwierd · 20/11/2021 19:30

@knittingaddict

But how does that work.

I'm abled bodied. I can move the car. Not an issue.

But what do I do? Leave ds there forever because he can't get back in?

Or leave a disabled child alone in a car park whilst I reverse out into the middle of it to get him back in?

I've already said that I misunderstood and didn't think through my reply. My idea was shit obviously. It's a ridiculous situation and I have no advice apart from kicking up a fuss and trying to get the policies changed. I hope you succeed.

Fair enough.

But I think it sums it up also how people who don't have to struggle daily really don't get it. That's not a dig but a reality.

I think there's a general belief that disabled spaces simply mean parking by the front door.

Many people have said "just use a regular space and pay". There's a lack of awareness and understand I believe in general that it's not location but the design that many use it for.

When I go places with BB spaces right outside the door but without widened spaces I'll park the other end of the car park in P and C spaces and use the BB.

OP posts:
Original poster
itsgettingwierd · 20/11/2021 19:33

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

Probably because there aren't very many disabled spaces and they don't want the same people staying in them all day, meaning that other disabled people can't use the facilities at all?

Could you park in an ordinary spot on an end so that one side if the car is always accessible?

I could if one was available.

But again that relies on availability when really they should have adequate parking for disabled drivers and passengers.

And my thought is that if disabled people have to move after 3 hours to make sure fair use of the car park happens then so should able bodied people.

The equality is the accessible spaces.

Inequality is accessible spaces but unequal time allowed to use the car park.

OP posts:
ColinTheKoala · 20/11/2021 19:35

If we could use a normal space we wouldn't have the blue badge

that's not strictly true - you may need the blue badge space because you need extra space, but a lot of people need a blue badge because they need to be close to somewhere in which case a normal sized space actually be fine.

Given this was a para event I'd feed back to the organisers and tell them to choose somewhere with lots of blue badge spaces.

karmakameleon · 20/11/2021 19:36

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

Probably because there aren't very many disabled spaces and they don't want the same people staying in them all day, meaning that other disabled people can't use the facilities at all?

Could you park in an ordinary spot on an end so that one side if the car is always accessible?

Presumably there isn’t the same pressure on the standard spaces given that you don’t need to move after three hours in one. If so, the solution would surely be to convert some standard spaces to blue badge spaces so everyone can stay as long as they need.
knittingaddict · 20/11/2021 19:36

I do get it op, if I think about it for more that 10 seconds. My mum doesn't need the extra space when I take her somewhere and she can't drive herself, so I had a bit of a thoughtless moment.

knittingaddict · 20/11/2021 19:37

@ColinTheKoala

If we could use a normal space we wouldn't have the blue badge

that's not strictly true - you may need the blue badge space because you need extra space, but a lot of people need a blue badge because they need to be close to somewhere in which case a normal sized space actually be fine.

Given this was a para event I'd feed back to the organisers and tell them to choose somewhere with lots of blue badge spaces.

This basically.
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