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Free parking scrapped for disabled


The Sick Moon

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We have all seen empty 'disabled' spaces when we are driving round looking for somewhere to park, and it is very frustrating.

 

No it isn't.

 

But you're not looking for a 'disabled parking space' are you?

So it shouldn't concern you.

 

 

No I'm not. And it doesn't.

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We have all seen empty 'disabled' spaces when we are driving round looking for somewhere to park, and it is very frustrating.

 

You should try it in reverse - unable to get a disabled space because some non-badge holder decides it's ok to park there 'just for a few minutes'. Now that is frustrating :-(

And it does happen. A lot.

 

Yes, like the red A1 taxi (with an airport plate) that parks on the disabled bay outside Anagh Coar stores most days.

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The question of designating more parking spaces for the disabled is a thorny one. We have all seen empty 'disabled' spaces when we are driving round looking for somewhere to park, and it is very frustrating. Allocating more disabled spaces would simply exacerbate that problem. We all need a bit of luck when looking for a parking space, and I'm afraid that that is just as true for wheelchair users.

 

Perhaps an alternative to more free, curb side spaces that are accessible for people with disabilities, the government could take an imaginative and pragmatic look at the situation?

 

How about, for example, they could let disabled people park in the car parks for free instead? That would reduce the discrimination that disabled people face, encourage disabled people in to Douglas, wouldn't reduce the number of 'normal' curb side spaces and wouldn't really cost anything in the greater scheme of things. I wonder if they've ever thought about that?

 

To me, Chester Street Car Park is no loss. As mentioned, the parking spaces there are anything but accessible for wheelchair users who have the temerity to travel without someone to help them! I never parked there after one occasion of getting 'stuck' because of the position of the pillars making the space inaccessible.

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Keith - most folk would agree that society should do something to help people who are disabled, and as a result, are unable to walk very far. Society does that by providing eligible people with a Blue Badge which gives certain benefits. The main benefit is that some wide parking spaces are reserved close to shops and the entrances to public buildings.

 

So far, so good. However, you seem to want to take things a step further. You seem to think that there should be many more of these parking spaces, so that you can always find one available, and that they should also be free.

 

Most folk are happy to see the Blue Badge scheme being used to try and address the problems caused by disability. However, your ability to pay is probably not dependent upon your disability, and neither is your ability to drive around waiting for a space to become available. Disabled people often say that they just want to be the 'same' as non disabled folk. Well we have to pay, and we have to hunt for a parking space. So I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with your suggestions.

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You seem to think that there should be many more of these parking spaces, so that you can always find one available, and that they should also be free.

 

No, I think there should be a fair number of free, accessible spaces.

 

Also, people who have disabilities rarely expect to be 'the same' as non-disabled people. Most know that people with disabilities are different from non-disabled people. But it would be nice to be treated fairly. Nine years, and still unable to implement the Disability Discrimination Act? Hardly a sign of a 'fair' society is it?

 

So we don't try to implement policies that help to support people who have disabilities but are swift to implement those that further isolate?

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