General Chat

I think:

Shopping and leisure centres must provide 6 per cent of their spaces for the disabled if their car parks contain less than 200 spaces.

For car parks with more than 200 spaces, 4 per cent must be allocated for the disabled

At one of our local hospitals there are a large number of disabled car spaces because there is an arthritis clinic and swimming pool for physiotherapy patients. At the weekends the clinic isn't open so they halve the number of disabled spaces. It seems to work well as more people seem to visit patients at the weekend.

I think there is a law denoting what percentage of a car park has to be for disabled parking.

You should see the disabled parking at Terminal 5 at LHR! Every floor on the Terminal side has the adjoining row dedicated to Disabled Parking.

May be there is a call for that number of spaces, but on the other hand when you are driving round and round in circles to meet an overnight flight, it is very gauling to see all but half a dozen spaces empty.

There is probably some percentage of spaces which by law *have* to be allocated, but had they done their research?

Yes, I did :-D at laying anti slip cobbles upside down.

125 parking spaces for the disabled. How big is the hospital? How many parking spaces are there overall?

Some might think that number is too many but many people with disabilities have regular hospital appointments. If this is an hospital which has a large number of people with disabilities attending regular appointments it may have been considered that they were needed.

@ Sue The town council spent a fortune on laying the anti slip cobbles! They spent even more when they realised they had been set upside down!!

You do make me laugh I nearly chocked on my coffee. :-D :-D :-D

Tigers Eye, one of my favourite shops. The problem in Cardigan stems from the application for multi storey car parking being refused over a decade ago.

Shopkeepers were up in arms (including Tigers Eye, His and Hers and the other independents). Their income is mainly from tourism and there is not enough parking during the Winter let alone Summer.

The town council spent a fortune on laying the anti slip cobbles! They spent even more when they realised they had been set upside down!! The money would have been better spent on the parking problem.

Shopping as a disabled person in Cardigan is not a joy! and often we drive straight through and go back home.

Sue, we asked and were told that by the time they'd processed my request then I would be walking again, they said that I'd be ok because I was "obviously" in need.

I was Tiger's Eye I wanted to go to, Sue, and when we parked only one other bay was occupied. By the time we got back (not gone that long) delivery lorries were taking up the others as my OH pointed out to the traffice warden. TW said they wouldn't be there long and it was difficult for them.

Not as difficult as it would be for someone disabled but that didn't seem to matter. He realised that we weren't accepting his telling off and wandered off in the end.

Shelia, is that just in your area? I know here in Wales it is at the discretion of the local County Council. A friend was granted one when she was released from hospital and returned it when she completed her rehab.

It's rather like the seat belt exemption, I had one for 12 months as I was lying along the back seat of our car as it was the only way I could get into it..lolol Letter from GP given to police and noted by them so if they stopped us and I had progressed to the front seat by reclining we wouldn't get into trouble.

You can't get blue badges for temporary conditions any more. I know, as I tried to get one when Mum had just had her hip replacement.

That problem in town centres is often so acute. I remember Northampton being exactly the same at end of Grafton St. Always parked in by people dropping off, trademen and deliver drivers with blue badge cars hooting and getting frustrated. And they then appear to be the rude ones and it gives the disabled a bad name. Particularly if they don't crawl out of their car subsequently with their finger nails clawing for traction on kerb stones (please write to Michael McIntyre if that image offends you)

I can see 3am in morning with nobody about being a temptation. But it should be an absolute no-no. Disabled bay = do not park unless entitled or have express permission (written preferably) from store manager.

If there is a problem with there being far too many or too few disabled bays or in the wrong place, then a copied letter to Store Manager will be best idea. It may get passed on to Head Office and no proper reply for a long time, But your views will be taken seriously.

You can apply for a temporary blue badge to use during the time you have mobility problems. Why not do that?

If Gwynne was taking a parking space in Cardigan she would have got the evils from me. We have 8 bays along the high street, delivery lorries and vans think it's fine to use them so getting one is almost impossible. The car park is at the bottom of a steep hill.

We'll raise a glass to you!

I'll have a look at that website, thanks.

Gwynne
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Gwynne, I'm sorry I can't make it either.

It's a parenting website named mumsnet but it's membership is not just mums. It's open to everybody and there are a wide mix of people of different ages, backgrounds and both parents and non parents.

There are a lot of parents on there who have children with disabilities and some of whom have disabilities themselves, so threads about disabled parking and P&C parking come up regularly. On the disabled parking threads there has been the occasional suggestion of a pink badge, or something similar, being issued for a short time, the time being dependent on what is causing the restriction on mobility.

Enjoy your lunch today. I'll be there in spirit :-D

Sounds a very good idea, Julie.

The other site sounds interesting - which one is it?

Shame you can't make the lunch today btw.

Gwynne
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On another site that I go on the possibility of a 'pink' badge has been raised for those who, for various reasons, find themselves with restricted mobility at some point in their lives.

On the same subject but from a different angle.

Some years ago I broke my leg in 3 places and was in plaster up to my knee. I was not allowed to put any weight on it for at least 8 weeks and struggled for several more weeks. We bought a wheelchair so I had some mobility. Crutches weren't much use because I was waiting for a carpal tunnel op so couldn't trust my hands using them.

We checked with Tesco, where we used to do our weekly shop, and they said it was ok to use a disabled bay. So we did. We got a few dirty looks about the lack of blue badge but when people saw us getting out of the car and the wheelchair being lifted out they were fine.

We also parked in a disabled bay on a street when we went on holiday so I could go into my favourite shop in Cardigan. A traffic warden said we really shouldn't have done. Now, at that point in our lives I maintain we were as entitled as any permanently disabled person to use the bay. And we would have fought it all the way if the traffic warden had given us a ticket.

Perhaps there should be more flexibility within the rules to take into account people who have restricted mobility for a short time. As Tesco did.

As it's my legs that are a problem, now I have had my shoulder surgery I probably could lift out one of the Luggie range of folding scooters.Maybe with a lot of cursing. I think they weight about 52lbs. If I was a man I don't think it would be a problem at all if upper body strength was good.

If the boot of the car has a straight floor and no raised perimeter that would be very easy to deal with as in estate cars and some saloons.

I don't care whether they can lift half a ton as long as they have a genuine reason for their blue badge that's fine by me. It's the selfish swines that don't or use someone else's blue badge or don't have one at all I could cheerfully throttle.

No blue badge...no use of a disabled bay! and slap them with a £60 or £80 fine.

Suzanne ..........


you are being just as ignorant about some aspects as others on this site.

I thought you were a nurse??? So you should have known about this.



Of course people can move their scooters around, if it is a mobility problem that they have.

If it is MS, or another nerve and muscle disability, then it might be more of a problem.


You can even buy lightweight, folding scooters over here that make it even easier for someone to have access to the outside world.

I know they weigh a ton and three years ago when I first got one I probably could lift it in and out of the car if I needed to. I could'nt walk more than 50 mtres with out having to rest, that is the point of having a scooter. One of the people I know who has a scooter plays wheel chair basketball, so there is nothing much wrong with his arms for lifting it in and out of his car