Angst Free Accessible Parking

I took a long time to reconcile that, for my well-being, I needed to access closer and safer parking bays. I was still driving at the time but required a walking stick and then a scooter to move around once I was parked. The decision to use an accessible parking bay does not come lightly – and for many, it’s not a choice. Interestingly, the subject of who should be parking in these bays seems to be the singular disability-related topic that everyone - non-disabled and disabled alike - holds a strong opinion on.

Are you one of the gazillions of people that get outraged when you perceive that someone undeserving is using an accessible space? Or worse, are you one of those people that gives the alleged perpetrator an earful? I like to think the majority of people use accessible parking permits fairly and legally because what many of us don't understand is that there are tons of invisible disabilities.

As a driver and passenger in a standard car, I had been rudely reprimanded and subjected to many indignant glares. This behaviour stopped when I began to park in my modified car using a wheelchair. For me, and from other anecdotes I have heard, often the tirade begins before the permit (required to be displayed on the windscreen) is noticed or before there is a chance to display the permit.  You see, many permit holders use various cars depending on how and by whom they are being chauffeured. And we’re only allowed one permit, so we may be taking it out of our bag before we exit the car.

Ideally, angled accessible car parking bays should be 5.4m long and 2.4m wide

Eligibility for an Australian Disability Parking Permit is arranged through each State and Territory within nationally consistent guidelines.  One of three criterion must be met:

-      Mobility restrictions that require devices such as a walking frame, wheelchair or scooter where that person requires a parking bay that is wider and longer than the usual

-      A chronic or acute illness such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), or Fibromyalgia where walking more than 10m is either painful, unsafe or both

-      Cognitive, behavioural, or neurological impairment such as blindness that requires the help of an aid to walk safely. 

A lot of conditions that fall under the last two categories can be referred to as invisible disabilities. To prevent nasty interactions that often leave permit holders shaken and upset, we must all be conscious that it may not be apparent why someone is using an accessible bay. Conversely, those of us who hold a Disability Parking Permit sometimes have a 'good health day’ or find a car parking lot safe to navigate. In those situations, especially where there are limited accessible car parking bays, I think we have a responsibility to free up those bays and use the standard spots when we can.

Why do so many of us get cranky when we see someone apparently able-bodied and displaying an accessible car parking permit alight from their vehicle in an accessible bay? Is it that we are all truly concerned that people with disability are having more choice taken away from them, or are we simply cranky that we – as non-permit holders - have to walk further than the alleged villain?

Although the awareness of, and advocacy for, disability equity is increasing, I am bemused at the gap between businesses and people in general actively improving accessibility versus simply paying lip service. Is getting righteous about a car parking bay easy picking, where no effort is involved by us? Some people certainly do use the accessible bay illegally.

Thoughtless acts such as parking on the designated shared space marked by diagonal lines beside an accessible bay, or parking at such an angle that renders the next bay inaccessible to any vehicle, are ways that some of us actively sabotage the system. Australian standards employed by Councils and privately owned car parks still have quite a way to go to reach equity. In many areas (hospitals and medical centres seem to be the worst) there are simply not anywhere near the required amount of accessible spaces, and even less that are longer than the standard bay to allow for safe rear entry.

Standard length parking bays are a hazard for all concerned

Thinking and acting courteously, able-bodied, or not, is a basic tenet to living harmoniously in a society where we have become more anonymous. Perhaps anonymity makes it easier to take out our frustrations, as we don’t personally know who we might be hurting with our vitriol. Although we can’t possibly understand each of the estimated 7,000 rare diseases on top of many more commonly known conditions among us, we need to accept that they exist. This is why advocacy and story-sharing are vital in enlightening us all about the obvious fact that someone else is experiencing life differently from you.

Many of us with disability have a constant worry about accessibility that begins before we enter a venue – we need to be assured of a safe and trouble-free place to park. The Australian Accessible Parking Permit scheme is an essential component of societal inclusiveness, but collectively understanding and supporting its use is when true equity happens.