disabled bays.. do they 'belong' to anyone?

[shell]

I parked in a disabled bay on east dulwich rd today. ( with a blue badge displayed .. to get my disabled mum into the house .. because no regular space on the rd was free ). We then went back to the car to find that a threatening letter had been left on the windscreen from someone saying THEY had applied for the space , it was THEIRS, my car " better not be there tonight you stupid person " etc etc

Now .. the bay simply says disabled badge owners only .. which we are.. I'm genuinely confused as to whether I'm in the wrong or not.

Also they never left a name or contact number so I cant even speak to them. I now have an upset mother terrified to use a disabled bay .. when she's disabled! ).

Can anyone help shed light on this?

[????]

yes, - ones in side streets are outside houses for a reason (because they are needed by a resident in the property) not as a random disabled bay. I don't think this is actually a matter of legality but I thought it was widely known.

So you are 'sort of' in the wrong - though I appreciate it can't always be easy tp find one and clearly it was a mistake rather than selfishness; but from the residents' point of view imagine if you couldn't get into your own house after say being shopping/school run etc?

[spider69]

I was always under the impression that a disabled bay no matter where was for anybody. The resident may have applied for it but it is not for their own personal use.

I have a neighbour who uses it as their own personal parking space because the badge in a parents name. Who is housebound and never goes out so they make use of it.

[Siduhe]

The Southwark website is pretty clear that bays cannot be reserved for the use of any one badge holder (see below) but I also agree that where one is put on a side street outside someone's house it's normally for a reason. No excuse for a threatening letter though - if you're mother is a blue badge user, she has important needs too. Some London councils do require people only to park in allocated bays, but not in Southwark.

It is important to know that any blue badge holder can park in any blue badge bay in Southwark as the bays are not reserved to one individual

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200072/parking/1374/disabled_parking

[DulwichFox]

Having a disabled parking bay outside your home doesn?t guarantee that space for you or the disabled person in your household.

A disabled bay road marking may be ?advisory? or ?mandatory?.

An advisory disabled bay road marking is not enforceable

No action can be taken by the police or the council if a non-disabled person or indeed another disabled person parks in the disabled bay

A mandatory disabled bay road marking is enforceable by law

We can take action against anyone parking in the disabled bay without displaying a blue badge

http://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/adult-social-care-and-health/transport-for-older-and-disabled-people/apply-for-a-disabled-parking-space-outside-your-house

Info for Leicester.. So just a Guide.

DulwichFox

[????]

There's law,

There's common sense

There's a bit of decency

Not that the OP has been deliberately unthinking and the response (note) to her was out of order -my MIL is disabled but I have asked her not to park in our neighbour's spot. My neighbour had a shopworker on LL park in her disabled space almost every day for a while then walk the 100 yards to LL - now that's selfish behavior in my book, however legal. When pulled up on it he said 'it's not yours'...but noticeably doesn't park in it anymore. As Sidhue said maybe you can apply for one for your mum?

[shell]

Yes I could apply for one for my mum but the street has so little parking on it already that I'd feel bad for taking up spaces when we'd only need it very infrequently. I'd never have used the existing one it if it wasn't completely necessary.. and I was in it for half an hour tops. There are 4 disabled bays on the rd by the way .. I assumed it was the council just being sensible and spreading them around .. I had no clue you could apply for one. I feel bad for the person who considers it theirs .. or at least i did till the threatening letter.( I'd completely understand if we hadn't displayed a blue badge obviously but to threaten another disabled person seems pretty extreme.. if its not legally theirs then a polite request would've been more appropriate surely )

[Tigres Pride]

Just a note to the wise, in case you were not aware:

In Southwark any Disabled Badge holder may park in:

?Any disabled bay (please observe time limits shown on the sign in short-stay disabled bays)

?Pay and display bays - free of charge and without time limit

?Shared use (permit holders or pay and display) - free of charge and without time limit

?Waiting restrictions (single or double yellow lines) - for up to three hours, providing the clock card is displayed which is set to your time of arrival

This may help you in the future to get nearer to your Mum's house when trying to deliver her home.

[shell]

Thanks Tigres Pride - the problem on east dul rd is that the rd is so narrow ( back of the green ) that if you park on single or double yellow you effectively block the traffic .. otherwise i would've definitely done that. and there are no permit or pay and display. We're so close to lordship lane and the station that people use our rd for parking all the time. I regularly have to park on adys rd and walk to my house and thats fine but my mum doesn't have that luxury so whats my option if I'm with her and she simply cant walk that far? It happens rarely , we can usually find a non disabled spot , but today we couldn't and had to park briefly in a disabled bay ( I stress, with our blue badge displayed ).

I don't know. I'm hoping it just doesn't become an issue again but if it does, I genuinely don't know what option I have.

[Earl Aelfheah]

???? Wrote:

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> from the residents' point of view imagine if

> you couldn't get into your own house after say

> being shopping/school run etc?

From Shell's mother's point of view imagine not being able to park close to your destination and there being an empty bay which you're entitled to use, but which someone mistakenly thinks is their's. So you have to park further away and struggle. I think the person who left the note is entirely wrong personally. The space is not theirs and there is nothing to suggest that their need is necessarily greater than Shell's mother.

[uncleglen]

Yes it is widely abused- the person near me has a very elderly relative who NEVER goes out but there is a space outside their house.

[Jeremy]

Agree with rahrahrah - for all we know, shell's mum needed the space just as much as the other person. Would contact the police if you get any more threats.

[maritap]

I'm a disabled badge owner and applied for the bay outside my home... However if I'm out and another badge owner is looking for parking space then they are allowed to use it...so nothing to worry about Shell

[rendelharris]

I quite agree, in my experience of living on Southwark's streets for twenty years they don't seem to remove a disabled bay even when the original applicant has died or moved, so how was the OP to even know if it was still in use by the original applicant? Disabled bays are there for the use of anyone with a blue badge and that's that. The OP sounds perfectly reasonable and I'm sure had the person who left the note come out and explained when and why the space might be needed for another user a sensible accomodation could have been reached, but abusing another disabled person for using their blue badge entirely legitimately is filthy behaviour.

Cheers,

Rendel

[ruffers]

Correct, they don't remove them automatically. There was one on our road which hadn't been used since I moved in (in 2008) and when the road was resurfaced a few months ago they painted it in aqain.

I asked the council about it and they posted a notice of intention to remove it, no one objected, so it was removed.

[Mustard]

David Cameron had one in front of his house in W10 (Kensington and Chelsea) for their sole use, because of their late son, Ivan. But it was marked with a number and the vehicle parking there had to have the corresponding number on it. I don't know if other boroughs do the same.

[shell]

Thanks guys I feel a lot better ..frustratingly the space is empty most of the time. A neighbour it turns out once had to park in it when a disabled relative visited.. it had been empty for a week ..and they got an angry note within five minutes.. so at least i know its not personal!

Fingers crossed it'll never be an issue again. I like a nice friendly neighbourhood!

[crozza]

If you are disabled (or become disabled) you can get a spot.

My neighbour had one - when they moved away, we wrote to Southwark council (with my neighbours approval) and the space was removed (much like most of ED very limited parking where I live + there are 2 others on my street, which were unused most of the time)

[Lynne]

On a parallel issue, there' a designated Car Club parking space on Crawthew Grove, near Lordship Lane. I believe the Car Club is no more. If so, can we get that removed?

[soyamocha3]

In certain Boroughs (say Westminster) when you apply for a Disabled Bay outside your home it is given a number that relates to your particular bay and you receive a matching permit with your allocated number. Anyone other than you (even if they have a disabled badge) will receive a ticket for parking in your bay. Southwark do not use this system. In order to get a bay outside your home you have to be receiving the higher rate of disability entitlement and despite going to all the trouble of completing the form to get the bay etc. anyone who has a Blue Badge can use it if your car is not parked in the bay. Southwark write to people who have disabled bays outside there home every few years to check whether the bay is required or not. If you do not confirm that it is still required the bay will be removed. I have a bay outside my house and get letters from Southwark every now and again asking if it is still required.

[James]

I too have a neighbour whose mother is disabled and has a badge. Have lived on my street for two years and in that time have never seen her leave the house. They have two cars and whichever one is on the street is parked outside the space, so they always have a space reserved for the other one. When the second car returns they move the first into the space as that one has the badge. On one occasion another disabled woman used the space and they subjected her to vile abuse from their window. I think they are utter scumbags.

[James Barber]

Hi Shell,

At some destinations disabled parking spaces have been established without a resident specifically asking for them.

But most are at the request of a resident. The process isn't quick such that I've had concerns the applicant might pass away before the space is created for them. The council then reviews then at regularly intervals.

I report about half a dozen spaces a year that need relining to ensure that they're clear.

[Pugwash]

I tried to get a disabled bay for my mother who had to go out in a wheelchair to our car and I ended up having to double park on a crowded road, go into her flat, get her sorted into the chair, lock up the flat and wheel her to the car and take pot luck that I was not blocking other cars. I could not get a disabled bay as I was not living at the address with my mother although my care was the only one that took her out weekly to do her shopping

There is a great swindle going on with blue badges and disabled bay parking and criteria for obtaining a blue badge in the first place is tightening. Some Blue Badges have expiry dates on them check your neighbours.

[rendelharris]

With all due respect Pugwash, and I accept that this was a pain for you, it sounds like you wanted a disabled bay set aside for your mother in what was obviously a crowded street so that you would have somewhere to park for a few minutes once a week? Not sure that would be a great use of the system...

[Sue]

Pugwash Wrote:

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> There is a great swindle going on with blue badges

> and disabled bay parking and criteria for

> obtaining a blue badge in the first place is

> tightening.

I'm glad to hear that, as somebody I knew had one (this is about ten years back now) and was definitely not disabled.

He kept it in the front window of his large car in order to be able to park more easily in places like the West End :(

I don't know where or how he got it but he was the kind of person who would know :(