Wheelchair designated parking isn’t for everyone

Drat! My wheelchair designated parking placard has expired! Thankfully, because my disability is visible, I won’t be required to have Section 2 filled in, but I won’t be able to park in a wheelchair designated parking space at SNB.  One space over will do just fine. I’m in wheelchair Olympic athlete shape. 

I try to be respectful of those who may be in greater need with regard to use of the wheelchair designated space, especially if I’m only going to be in a place for a short time — I will walk. In winter weather, if I’m going to spend longer than an hour, we use the wheelchair parking space. Otherwise my friend will pull up to the curb at the mall, and we’ll get me and my chair out and she’ll park in a regular space. When I’m finished with the mall crawl, I’ll propel my chair to the parking space she chose. That way we don’t have to take a designated space that a young family with a profoundly mobility challenged child may need. Rule of thumb — if you really are able to ‘go the distance’ on foot or on wheels, do it! 

There’s been a lot of press about wheelchair parking spaces and incidences of people abusing them. How can we be sure that someone really is a ‘designated space’ abuser? Lots of ‘hidden’ disabilities may significantly impact ability to move about freely, effectively diminishing quality of life. Those in such circumstance are  absolutely entitled to use the wheelchair parking space if it helps reduce their fatigue and contributes to their emotional wellness. Fatigue makes one grumpy and stressed. Going shopping and having to park a very long distance from store entrances sort of ruins the whole experience. A convenient parking space is really not too much to ask for. I’m all about wants v. needs.  

That brings me to the recent killing in the United States of a man over a parking space. What’s with that? What did that white Florida man who told detectives he had a “pet peeve” about illegal parking in handicapped spots ‘really’ want? He was convicted on 23 August 2019 of manslaughter for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man outside a convenience store. Was he out to harm ‘anyone’ who was, in his misguided view, illegally parked, or was his intent to shoot a person of colour? The decision he made on that day affected many lives and took 2 lives; one forever and another lost to many years in prison. No winners and lots of losers.

Wheelchair designated parking spaces, simply put, are available to those who need them. A child with quadriplegic cerebral palsy on a portable vent is typically transported in a van with a hydraulic lift ramp that  rolls/unfolds from the side opening door. Ever wonder what those white lines between parking spaces are for? That space allows for the lowered ramp and egress from the vehicle. Don’t park there!  A tip for vans drivers who occupy wheelchair designated spaces — make sure to park as straight as you can, so you’re not  drifting into another space. Being a considerate motorist is good for everyone.

To those who function with a cynicism that most find offensive, think before you assume the worst or the wrong thing when you watch someone pull into a designated space. It’s like you’re lying in wait for a parking space violator. You look for the wheelchair, trying to see evidence in the back seat, maybe. If there isn’t one, bam! they’re parked illegally. You watch some more. Where’s the wheelchair designated placard? You watch and watch.  The driver of the car gets out. Walking! She goes to the trunk. Out comes a walker on wheels; one of those nifty folding affairs with a seat and a basket underneath.  You continue to watch. The woman goes around to the passenger side and opens the door, positioning the walker. A really small, very elderly man steps out and moves gingerly towards the walker, getting himself positioned. Perhaps they’re father and daughter. She walks beside him as they make their way to the mall entrance. Confident that he’s safely inside, she leaves him to get back in the car. She backs out of the parking space and moves to a regular space. Do you stop watching? You should. 

What people may not be aware of is that it’s not always the driver of the vehicle in need of the wheelchair designated parking space. In fact, the car being driven may actually be owned by the passenger, the legal holder of the wheelchair designated placard. Lots of people who have them and use them are like me — ‘as required’ use.

  When folks give my friend and me ‘the look’ when we pull into a space, I smile. Once, I’m seen moving, my situation becomes clear. `nough said!

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her geriatric Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca