To park in one of hundred of disabled spaces where there isn’t a single P&C space?

[MickeyMouseShithouse]

I have two children in car seats and I struggling getting them out in one particular multi storey car park local to me. The thing is, this multi story has hundreds.. hundreds(!) of disabled spaces that the majority of are always empty, but not a single parent and child space for a shopping centre?!

Its started to effect my anxiety and puts me off going there but it’s really the only half-decent place I can get anything locally.

WIBU to park in a disabled spot? Not even one close to the entrance, just any of them!

or who do I contact to question why there aren’t any p&c spaces?

it’s so frustrating, I can’t imagine there are a couple hundred disabled people going shopping to the same shopping centre in the same day.. but I can imagine there are are least 1 family with a car seat/pushchair!

An obscene amount of accessible spaces so those of us with disabilities are able to shop?

Maybe campaign for less of them, that'll teach us.

There are some places with a huge number of disabled places all together. While there are an awful lot more non disabled ones it can mean that on occasion, when it’s busy, there are quite a lot of empty disabled places and you struggle to find a normal one at all. The metrocentre up near Newcastle used to be like that. There were times it was hard to find a space at all in the run up to Christmas then in the multi storey there would be rows of empty disabled spaces. Thing is relative to all the parking it’s still a tiny percentage of spaces. If anyone could park there due to no room to easily find/to get without waiting elsewhere then they’d be gone very fast.

@MickeyMouseShithouse
get pushchair out and set up
put baby in a sling
get toddler out and clip in pushchair
lock up
walk to somewhere sensible and swap children if needed

or

take out pushchair set up
go get the baby and unclimbed the toddler
toddler climbs into the boot while you put the baby in the pushchair
open boot and remove small child
go shopping

YABU. Parent and child spaces are a luxury. disabled parking spaces are not. Yes I have small children. No I've never seen the need to use a parent and child space

Non parents parking in P&C spaces is not the same as able bodied people parking in disabled spaces

Why are empty disabled spaces a problem? If there are empty ones, then someone with a BB has a 100% chance of being able to park and get on with their day. For some, a space being available can be the difference between them doing what they wanted, and giving up and going back home.
Do you want them to be all filled all of the time?

If it’s an option go on the bus/train. Take baby in a sling and a folding pushchair for the toddler. It’s often a lot easier than dealing with parking and walking them through car parks.

Definitely write to the shopping centre and express your frustration at their lack of provision.

Where is it?

No, there aren't an 'obscene' amount of them. There's the amount that have been judged necessary to allow people with disabilities to have a realistic chance of using the facility. Unless you really think it is 'obscene' for people with disabilities to be allowed to use the same shopping centre you do, you should be ok with that.

Anxiety is shit, and I do get that. It's horrible. Have you had proper help to deal with that?

I don't know if this would work, but can you use a sling for the baby? That would avoid the pushchair issue. Or, can you use wrist reins for the toddler, so they can't run away while you sort the baby? Or even just make a game of it and insist the toddler comes out with you, and holds onto the baby's pushchair while helping ('helping') you strap the baby in? Then you could sort out the toddler?

Where are you were there's an "obscene" amount of disabled parking bays? And why do you think providing a sufficient number of accessible parking spaces is "obscene"?

I'm a mum of two young children and a daughter to two blue badge holding parents. I know which pair I find easier to get in and out of the car and it's not my parents.

Can you do toddler in pushchair and baby in a sling or toddler on reins and baby in pram? The latter might mean you move faster than you want, but it stops toddler bolting.
Beyond that, I think you're going to have to find a way to keep one safely in the car whilst you sort the other out.

I am struggling severely with walking during my pregnancy. My daughter has a blue badge. Although I think about how handy it would be to use her badge when she isn’t there I never have because it isn’t mine. I’m sure I could use it and easily get away with it but I’m not a dick; so I don’t. I park further away to enable my massive belly to exit my vehicle safely and suffer the pain.

So if I can put myself through physical pain (essentially voluntarily) to park legally and considerately then you can park further away or perhaps get public transport/private cab if your anxiety is that bad.

Having children is a choice, having a disability isn't, and providing for disabled people is never 'obscene'. HTH.

Supermarkets always have loads of disabled spaces completely empty and all the parent and child ones are full up. So this is a fair observation. Clearly they have given too much of a % of spaces to disabled , I wonder if there’s a set law for how many there have to be? I would never park in a disabled space though.

Parent and Child spaces are like store loyalty cards- a gimmick to attract families.

Disabled spaces are a legal requirement and you would deserve a ticket if you parked in one without a blue badge.

It would be nice if they had P&C spaces to make your life easier (and in your shoes I would contact the company to see if they plan to repurpose any spots) but don't be a dick and take a spot.

I have a disabled bay marked for me outside my home, registered with the council to my car. I have a BB.

If I dare leave the house to go somewhere (and inevitably there are no BB spaces left where I'm going), when I get back home 9 times out of 10 some ignorant twat without a badge is in my designated bay.

YABVU to park in a disabled bay. Park in a space at the end of a row or next to a disabled space for more room if you need it.

There is no law about P&C spaces, as they are just a marketing tactic by the shops.

Don't be a selfish knob head. Park in a normal space like the rest of us incredibly lucky people who don't need a disabled space.

I believe you, OP. Maybe we use the same car park. The shopping centre that I go to has a massive, relatively new car park. Each floor is vast. And half of the ground floor is disabled spaces. I honestly don't think I've seen more than 10% of them in use. I'm sure that someone must have miscalculated the number of spaces that they were obliged to set aside for disabilities. And yes, when the place is packed and I can't find a space, it's really frustrating.

Annoying that people without a BB park in your bay, but BB holders can park in "your" space legally.
I know several people who have also got a BB bay put in for them outside their house, then get enraged that other BB holders use it.

Not so long ago there was no such thing as P&C spaces. I wonder how we managed.

No of course you should never park in disabled bays, that's a given.

However, when my two were little I found it hard as so many places had such tight parking. There just isnt the space to get a baby and toddler out of an average sized car in a normal spot when the car park is busy. If no p&c parking available I often just had to turn around and go home. Not great when you're just trying to get a food shop in or pick up a prescription for a poorly toddler.

I also find so much thinly veiled misogyny in these threads - gleeful implications that women obviously can't drive/park properly etc and crowing of 'its a choice, procreating doesnt make you special'.

Well no of course not, but why wouldn't we want to make life easier for parents as well as disabled people? Let's try and push for all public amenities to be more accessible and help each other out, rather than being an arse on the internet to struggling mothers who might just need a bit of support?

Oh come on, if you honestly can’t negotiate getting your baby and toddler out of car and into a pushchair safely, you really ought not be doing anything as overly complicated as driving on a public road. Jesus Christ.

I expect the bb spaces are free because the disabled people aren’t home on maternity leave and instead are at work, or perhaps studying, or waiting in for carers or at appointments. Perhaps they need the spaces at times when the mums with babies don’t?