Call for crackdown on drivers defying mobility park permit rules

Sunday, 12 August 2018

Mobility park permit holder Diane Gibb gets frustrated when spaces are not available through selfish parking.

Fed-up drivers have called for tougher crackdowns on motorists who flout mobility parking rules.

Marlborough District Council revealed an average of just three tickets a month were issued to drivers caught parking in mobility spaces in the last two years.

Councillor and parking committee chairman Brian Dawson said mobility users still need to feed the parking metres.

Mobility permit holders said in reality the figures would be higher and more needed to be done to stop dubious driving practices.

The call came as council figures showed just 68 tickets were issued to residents parking in mobility spaces without a permit between August 1, 2016 and August 1, 2018.

A mobility parking permit has made a big difference to Diane Gibb's independence.

Councillor and mobility and access chairwoman Jenny Andrews said residents should imagine themselves in the shoes of others.

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Taxi driver Chris Bothwell, right, helps Diane Gibb back on board.

Mobility card holder Diane Gibb, who has multiple sclerosis said people often did not park long enough to be caught by parking wardens on patrol.

She said mobility parks were 'very precious' to her as their wide birth, level ground and close shop proximity allowed her to get in and out of her vehicle more easily.

'People say to me 'oh, I'm just popping in for a couple of minutes', but when you're waiting for them to come back, a couple of minutes feels like a couple of hours.

'Around town, when mobility parks are compromised by people parking in them, I have to travel quite a bit of time to get to where I want to go,' she said.

Fines were not enough of a deterrent and the public needed to be 'educated', said Blenheim-based Gibb.

'We need to educate people so that they have a lot more understanding of the issues it causes,' she said.

The figures meant Marlburians forked out about $10,200 in fines for illegally parking in disabled spots over the past two years.

A poll run on Stuff social media website Neighbourly showed 95.9 per cent of 49 voters believed there needed to be a penalty for parking without a permit.

But Kaikōura resident Alan Gulleford commented on the poll that fines might not be the best form of enforcement.

'Fines can be a really big deal to some and I would rather see a card on the windscreen advising the driver of the thoughtless consequences to disabled folk who find their park taken,' he said.

Permits were issued by CCS Disability Action according to strict health criteria.

A council spokesman said drivers who occupied a mobility park without a permit were liable to a fine of $150.

Councillor and parking committee chairman Brian Dawson said though wardens patroled the town, they did not oversee private car parks, such as those in supermarkets.

'It's up to those companies that provide that parkings to police their own parking.

'They don't have an arrangement with council or council contractors in terms of the policing of those car parks,' he said.

Riverlands resident Linda Skelton, who's father was a mobility card holder, said the number of fines issued in Marlborough for parking illegally in disabled spots was 'not enough'.

'People have purposely gone and parked in that disabled parking spot.'

'They didn't just accidently turn up late, like someone who parks in town and goes over their parking metre time. You could be late for many good reasons, but there's no good reason for parking in a mobility park,' she said.

She said people were often under the mistaken impression mobility card holders parked for free.

'I didn't realise until dad had to pay for a mobility permit that they paid and they paid substantially for those spaces,' Skelton said.

Permits cost $50 for five years.

A CCS Disability Action spokeswoman said there were 1506 mobility permit holders in Marlborough.

She said long-term permits were often issued to drivers with permanent ailments, while short-term permits were often issues to drivers recovering from an operation.

Age Concern Marlborough community welfare co-ordinator Catherine Donnelly said parking was 'really important' for mobility park users.

'There is nothing worse than others, who aren't entitled to, using the disabled parking spots,' Donnelly said.

Councillor and mobility and access chairwoman Jenny Andrews said some drivers needed to be less selfish.

'If [mobility card holders] go somewhere and they find someone else in their spot, they can find it too hard, and sometimes the only solution is to go home or to another venue.

'Parking there just makes it more difficult for them to be social, which is vital,' she said.

Permit holders can find check the location of public mobility parks by using the council's mobility map.