Post by Banker on Dec 30, 2011 13:43:56 GMT 7
News sensor technology could detect illegal parking in disabled spaces, but it's expensive and people just need to be more thoughtful, says National Disability Services.
Helen Granville is the manger of ACROD parking permit program in Western Australia, and she says there is widespread abuse of the parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities.
"The anecdotal information we have is that a lot of people just park in the bays quickly, they think they are going to be five minutes in a shop and that turns into much longer."
"We believe it's quite a significant problem."
Ms Granville says the New Zealand technology, which is currently being trialled in the UK and which works by installing permanent sensors in disabled bays and would recognise cars and identify if the driver holds a permit to park there, is promising but costly.
"This issue is that there are many ACROD bays across WA and to place that sort of technology in every parking space is going to be incredibly expensive."
"I think additional monitoring by local governments would be of great benefit. They can't be there 24/7 though, and we require a lot of goodwill from the general community to acknowledge that people with disabilities have much great need of the parking spaces."
"We really encourage the general community to be thoughtful."
Helen Granville believes most illegal parking is due to the laziness, and that drivers don't realise how much it will impact on people with disabilities.
"We want the quick solution and we think we're only going to be five minutes, there's a space there, nobody is parking in it so I'll just park there."
"What they don't see is that a person with a disability might be driving in two minutes behind them, and if the bay is taken the disabled person generally has to drive home again."
"It's a major inconvenience."
"It's very difficult for them to leave their home anyway, so to go to a shopping centre or a specialist appointment and find someone has parked illegally in an ACROD bay is terribly frustrating for them."
The permits, she says, are not given out lightly and all applications are rigorously assessed.
"There are two general criteria and one is that you have a wheelchair or other mobility device like a walking frame and you need the extra space, because the bays are wider."
"The other is that when you walk 50 metres your condition starts to deteriorate."
"A person in WA has to get the formed signed by their doctor and also in WA, we are quite unique because we have occupational therapists that assess every form and make calls to the doctor to clarify any information before issuing a permit."
www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/12/30/3399993.htm
Helen Granville is the manger of ACROD parking permit program in Western Australia, and she says there is widespread abuse of the parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities.
"The anecdotal information we have is that a lot of people just park in the bays quickly, they think they are going to be five minutes in a shop and that turns into much longer."
"We believe it's quite a significant problem."
Ms Granville says the New Zealand technology, which is currently being trialled in the UK and which works by installing permanent sensors in disabled bays and would recognise cars and identify if the driver holds a permit to park there, is promising but costly.
"This issue is that there are many ACROD bays across WA and to place that sort of technology in every parking space is going to be incredibly expensive."
"I think additional monitoring by local governments would be of great benefit. They can't be there 24/7 though, and we require a lot of goodwill from the general community to acknowledge that people with disabilities have much great need of the parking spaces."
"We really encourage the general community to be thoughtful."
Helen Granville believes most illegal parking is due to the laziness, and that drivers don't realise how much it will impact on people with disabilities.
"We want the quick solution and we think we're only going to be five minutes, there's a space there, nobody is parking in it so I'll just park there."
"What they don't see is that a person with a disability might be driving in two minutes behind them, and if the bay is taken the disabled person generally has to drive home again."
"It's a major inconvenience."
"It's very difficult for them to leave their home anyway, so to go to a shopping centre or a specialist appointment and find someone has parked illegally in an ACROD bay is terribly frustrating for them."
The permits, she says, are not given out lightly and all applications are rigorously assessed.
"There are two general criteria and one is that you have a wheelchair or other mobility device like a walking frame and you need the extra space, because the bays are wider."
"The other is that when you walk 50 metres your condition starts to deteriorate."
"A person in WA has to get the formed signed by their doctor and also in WA, we are quite unique because we have occupational therapists that assess every form and make calls to the doctor to clarify any information before issuing a permit."
www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/12/30/3399993.htm