Special Needs Families: When a Tweet from a Car Park made me Angry at Christmas
Miriam Gwynne
Full time mum and carer for two truly wonderful autistic twins. I love reading, writing, walking, swimming and encouraging others. Don’t struggle a...
She has a Blue Badge and therefore entitled to use a disabled parking space yet many of these were in use by cars with no badge displayed.
On asking about this she was informed that cancer patients were now allowed to use the blue badge parking spaces too.
This lead to her contacting the parking company and in doing so she saw this tweet by them.
When she showed me I was outraged.
Here, in a public tweet on social media, a huge company that owns and runs parking lots throughout Britain and beyond is actively encouraging those without a blue badge to use disabled parking spaces!
Yes I know it is Christmas and I totally understand that parking spaces are at a premium in December but this to me is going too far.
The fact is disabled people and families of disabled children and adults NEED these spaces.
For people like me with two disabled children I need the extra width both sides of my vehicle.I need the shorter distance to the entrance for safety and I need the extra length to get a wheelchair out my boot.
I am not lazy or in a hurry or can’t be bothered driving a bit further to look for a space.
Yet according to this company I should give up all this simply for Christmas shoppers to be able to park easier? I am sorry Park Indigo but this is outrageous!
The fact of the matter is according to the government’s own website if these spaces had been in a public car park owned by the council what Indigo are advocating would be totally illegal.So why would a parking company even advocate something that in all other circumstances would be against the law?
Well simply because they are a private company they can get away with it.
In other words they are abusing their rights as a private company and deciding they can do what they like and in doing so disadvantage and discriminate against disabled people and families of disabled people at a time when these parking spaces are needed even more.
Does my family not matter? Do they think that my money is somehow of less worth than that of other non-disabled shoppers?
What is more by not even defining a clear period of when this ludicrous law breaking and discriminatory action is allowed they are actually allowing and encouraging a habit that is dangerous and despicable.They are telling drivers that it is ok to use a disabled parking space if it is Christmas. They at saying if our car parks are busy then you can trample on and abuse the disabled and we approve.
Oh and we actually want you to do so JUST so we get some extra cash from you using our car park.
What is this country coming to when tweets like this from huge companies are actually not only acceptable but considered ‘normal’.
What sort of world are my children growing up in that says to them that their needs only count if car parks are quiet and therefore others don’t want your space anyway?
