Snagging a rock star park makes everything easier when you’re rushing to make an appointment at the doctor or picking up some last-minute groceries. And as the states begin to open up their borders and traffic returns to the city, getting a well-placed parking spot is tipped get even trickier.
But for those living with a disability easy access to accessible parking is not only desirable, but essential. And a new survey from the Australian Network on Disability found 80 per cent of respondents believed accessing suitable parking space was critical.
Those who require the use of disabled parking spaces do not see them as a luxury, but a crucial part of maintaining dignity and independence when going about their daily lives.
Every five years people with a permanent disability must pay $45 for an accessible parking permit to be able to use these specifically designed spaces. Not only that, but they must also provide a recent doctors certificate to prove the validity of their disability when applying for a permit renewal.
Not every person with a disability is on a pension, and those who are paying out of hand for a permit on top of the doctor’s appointment fee are within their rights to expect quality accessible parking.
Despite this, members of the disabled community still report experiencing great difficulty when using these specifically designed spaces.
Blocked by dumpster bins
Sydney resident Daniel Gonzalez is a full-time carer and uses accessible car spaces when aiding his disabled father.
Gonzalez’s father has multiple medical requirements, but the majority of practices they frequent don’t promote accessibility. One – located in a small shopping centre – has no disabled parking bays whatsoever.
Another had dumpster bins blocking access to disabled parking bays and even the regular bays were reserved for staff meaning the search for a street park.
The only other spaces available were regular bays which were closed off or reserved for employees.
“It is strange that a medical building doesn’t make disability parking a priority or adequate enough for the clientele to access,” Gonzalez says.
Alternative parking solution
Western Australian woman and mother of three Lisa Harman knows all too well the difficulties of finding a suitable space to park her car.
When the disabled bays are full, Harman doesn’t go shopping at all.
“If I’m not in a van with a rear entry, and if I can’t open the side door properly, I can’t get in [or out of] the car,” she says.
Harman’s disability is called Spinocerebellar Ataxia, a progressive and degenerative condition which causes the cerebellum to shrink. The condition means Harman is permanently confined to a wheelchair. Easy access to parking designed to accommodate wheelchair access is vital for Harman to maintain her independence.
Yet the reality of her local parking situation is far from simple.
As she cannot stand or walk, Harman requires a hoist to transfer out of the car and into her wheelchair. The hoist comes out from the side of the vehicle, however the local carpark has raised parking bays and the hoist cannot be lowered down properly, which means Harman cannot be placed into her chair.
“We end up parking in parent bays and the parents get so angry, but their bays aren’t compulsory.”
The disabled bays are also not wide enough, but the size of a standard car space and the carpark itself has no kerb ramp to get up onto the footpath. This means that wheelchair users like Ms Harman must go onto the road, which is dangerous for everyone involved.
“We’ve told the shire…we’ve complained to the owners of the shop, and they all say that they’re complying with the [disability guidelines], but they’re not,” Harman says.
Parking with Dignity
Jason Barker from Design For Dignity, an organisation that assists businesses and councils to ensure they are providing quality accessibility for local communities, says experiences like Gonzalez and Harman’s are common.
The standard referenced by the National Construction Code in Australia describes how accessible parking bays should be constructed for off-street parking and clearly show how the spaces need to be constructed including access to the kerb adjacent to the space.
Barker says parking spots provided parallel to the road must be at least 3200mm wide and 7800mm long. The bay should also have space on the passenger side that is 1100mm wide and 7800mm long. The additional space can be at footpath height but needs to have access with a kerb ramp.
“[Medical facilities] should have priority spaces for people with disability. It should be a legal mandate and provided by the council,” Gonzalez believes.
Every council has a Disability Inclusion Action Plan, Barker says, which includes a three-year program to improve access and inclusion and break down barriers.
“Ideally, they would be using that process to do the consultation with people with disability, audit accessible parking and have a program of remediation. Unfortunately, the plans of many local councils are not that granular,” he says.
The problem leaves many wheelchair users with no choice but to negotiate a road and weave behind parked or reversing cars, in order reach the kerb ramp to get up onto the footpath.
So…what can be improved?
New Zealand has an accessible parking requirement which could greatly impact the safety of street parking in a positive way if implemented in Australia.
The regulation requires parking to be designed so people with disabilities don’t have to pass behind parked cars when moving to an accessible route or when approaching the entrance.
If this parking regulation was adapted by the Australian National Construction Code, it would improve current accessible parking measures and show the disabled community their safety is a top priority for councils across the country.
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