Disabled parking woes
Parking for disabled people at Marlboro licensing department has become an issue.
This came to the fore after Amit Nadon, a disabled person, was unable to find a parking bay. It was established that the parking assistants had allowed an able-bodied person to park in the one of two disabled bays at the licensing department. The other bay is used as a stall operated by a disabled woman, Barbie Lallo who received permission from the Quadriplegic Association to do so.
Lallo said she kept reminding the parking assistants to only let disabled people park in the bay. “It defeats the purpose if able-bodied persons use it,” she lamented. “I am sick and tired of telling them.”
Metro police spokesperson Edna Mamonyane said, “Able-bodied persons know they cannot park there. Now this has been brought to my attention, I am going to get the regional commander to go and speak to the parking marshals. Who gave them authority to let people park in disabled parking?”
Lidia Pretorius of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities said, “The department denounces the use of parking bays reserved for persons using wheelchairs in the strongest terms. Designated parking bays with the universal wheelchair sign are reserved for vehicles with drivers and/or passengers using wheelchairs.” She added that the disabled parking bays were wider than the ordinary ones to allow for the additional space required to get into a wheelchair safely.
How do you feel about able-bodied people using disabled parking bays? Tweet @Sandton_News #disabled or post on our timeline, Sandton Chronicle.
