Parent and parking bay - outrage

[SpideyWoman1]

Just to stir up a hot topic.

My local gym has a few parent and child bays. I rarely get to use one and the regular bays are pretty small so they’re handy, although I obviously manage. It’s an expensive gym so you expect the perks that go with it.

I followed someone out of the gym this morning whilst leaving with my two year old and there was a lady parked in a P&C bay - given she had just played tennis I think it’s fair to say she wasn’t disabled (or atleast physically impaired to the extent she needed a smaller bay) like so many people said on another thread. Not only that she was driving a bloody Fiat 500 - ie one of the smallest possible cars.

I was just a bit outraged at the bare faced cheek!

It was the same at David Lloyd 18 years ago when my eldest was a baby. Reception refused to do anything about it and still don't.

I am not keen on your comment on the car. It's a dick move generally, it's not more acceptable for those with massive cars while the rest of us should get in our lane.

I hardly ever used them myself, it's much easier to just use a normal space and not get wound up.

There is, however, a delicious irony in people driving to a sports club, to exercise, and then fighting over the parking spots closest to the front door.

Time to do away with them altogether I think.

Have blue badge spaces and then have larger spaces that people have to pay for, or pay extra for. That would also cater for people with disabilities that aren't bad enough to get a blue badge or someone with a temporary issue like a broken leg.

I see no reason why people who choose to drive oversized cars should have the benefit of bigger spaces. Drive a smaller car or park further away from the entrance.

I suspect that if people had to pay extra for the larger spaces they'd suddenly decide they didn't need them after all (or the bigger cars).

And it is absolutely fine for blue badge holders to park in P&C spaces.

There is, however, a delicious irony in people driving to a sports club, to exercise, and then fighting over the parking spots closest to the front door

Indeed!

Although if it's dark, then I can understand why women would want to be closer to the entrance. But not in the normal run of things.

My DC have swimming lessons at a David Lloyd club and the p&c spaces are always full of cars whose owners don’t have children.

Its not I was just wondering as gyms round my way don't allow kids.i thought maybe they had a creche and thought that was a clever idea

All spaces should be the same width as P&C and blue badge spaces.

Regardless we should be able to buy/drive any car we want. We pay insurance, tax, etc why shouldn't we have big enough car spaces without worrying someone will casually whack your door or you haven't got room to get out.

I chose to have multiple children and I choose to spend ££££ on a big car.

It is annoying but I don't begrudge anyone parked in those spaces whom haven't got children. I don't blame them.

@SpideyWoman1

The thing is aswell, the membership is an arm and a leg and a family membership is bloody expensive.

Lost me at that. You do realize family memberships of all types are massively subsidized by the poor buggers having to shell out for individual memberships? Such entitlement.

Parent and parking bays are not legal rights, more a courtesy.

I drive an 8 seater Land Rover, it's huge. I also have children, I'll happily park my car at my gym in a parent and child bay, the regular spaces are tiny.

I won't use parent and child spaces in supermarkets, though. I'll just park further away. I know the frequency of parents needing them is far higher with the added issues of car seats, pushchairs, and then trolleys.

OP, get over it.

Sorry I interrupted it as a criticism.

They have a crèche. I’ve not used it but keep meaning to.

She might have all sorts of conditions that she doesn't have to explain to you.

You can, for example, get a BB for MH conditions (I have one in part for that reason - it's on my pip so it's applicable, at least in part)

Quite a few gyms offer family membership and/or a crèche

OP David Lloyd can absolutely enforce this. They do at my club from time to time. They have a black mark system similar to the one they use for people who book a space in a class and don't show up. I'm not sure what happens when someone gets 3 black marks for parking BC I don't use those spaces. I assume some sort of member privileges are revoked for a time period. Speak to them. See what they say

Oh and the PP who said that inclusivity is important therefore they use the P and C spaces even though they don't need to - WTF?? Are you on crack?

Also before I got my BB I parked in them. Because I needed to open the door wide to get in and out of the car - for a long time that was my only need, once I was up and out I was fine, I just couldn't get in and out of the car.

So I could have played tennis, but I needed the space to get in and out of the car. (Those days are long past for me now, my condition has deteriorated and I now walk with aids)

Also I couldn't get a BB for a long time. My condition was the same as it is now, more or less, but because I wasn't getting PIP I couldn't have a BB. I parked in parent and child spaces then because I wasn't eligible to park in BB spaces. When I did so, if there was a customer service desk, I always let them know (sometimes there wasn't a desk to inform) and it was never a problem.

Hmmm generally I agree P&C spaces should be left for those with children. Closer to the shop/gym/wherever and wider to get the child out of the car - I accept that.

However, there was once this time when I arrived in the middle of the day to go to a gym class (worked shifts and had a day off) and the whole carpark was full except for 1 P&C space. This is a leisure centre gym so has a pool/gym/classes/other rooms etc and it's a big car park. I'd never seen it full before! It's also on a duel carriageway, so no other parking options nearby to stick your car elsewhere. I hovered around trying to see if anyone in a normal space was leaving but literally nothing. I was going to miss my class so I just bit the bullet and popped my car in the P&C space. I felt kind of bad, but in the same breath should I really have not gone to the gym incase a parent wanted to go? Am I less worthy of a customer for the last space in the carpark?

As it goes, it kind of backfired on me because a lady who watched me park waited and

Ooops pressed send too early.

She came over and called me out on it, and then I retreated to my car and pretended to move it. When she'd left, I then got back out of the car and went to the class mortifying.

I've never done it other than that though. It genuinely wasn't about being lazy and wanting to park at the front, it was the only space and I wanted to go spinning!

I say this on every p and c space.

I always get "but car parks are dangerous".

No one ever has a response when I ask them if they only take their children out to places with p and c spaces then?

Because we know they don't! People only need p and c spaces where p and c spaces are available.

Yet there's never the same outrage over BB spaces which are a necessity wherever you are.

I use p and c spaces with ds (blue badge holder) in a number of local places. And all the time they put these spaces closer than BB spaces I will continue to do so. You can carry a baby from a car to pram. I can't carry my ds from car to wheelchair. 🤷‍♀️

Disabled people with a blue badge can park in p&c if no disabled bays available

I was abused by a woman in my local aldi for parking in a parent and child space, she was shouting down the 'phone' to someone just as I walked past 'and then she got out of the fucking car and didn't even have any kids with her'

I was 8 months pregnant and had been trapped in/out of my car a few times by people parking too close.

Honestly just live and let live. If I get a parent and child space, result. If not, shit happens

Rather than bending over backwards trying to explain why she might have needed one, perhaps just accept that that scenario is vanishingly unlikely, make more improbable by the fact she was driving a small car and so space likely wasn’t the issue.

I belong to DL,did you report to Reception? Because at the one where I am a member, they will intervene if someone is misusing the parent and child or disabled spaces.

I will use P&C spaces if they're the only space left somewhere and it's later in the evening.
So if I go to the gym at 8pm I'll park in one if I can't park in a standard space. No swimming lessons or open swim on at that time and if your kid is old enough to be in the centre at that time, then they don't need the space (disabilities aside).
I've still been shouted at for this though but I don't care.

That’s unfair, OP. You’ve got no idea why she parked there either.

myob OP
Tennis playing lady may have medical conditions she doesn't need to explain to you.

It's no big deal for you to park in an ordinary space, just suck it up.

Parent and childbays should be placed at the far end of the car park. Then lazy people will not nab them.