Parking wardens ticket another disabled blue badge holder

ANOTHER disabled person has been given a parking ticket for displaying their disabled badge upside down in Lewes.

John Bassett, 72, of Prince Charles Road, Lewes,was using his disabled badge for the first time when he was fined in Friars Walk.

He has since reluctantly paid a £60 fine but was unhappy with the treatment. He said the parking scheme was 'ruining' the town.

Mr Bassett, a retired storeman from the Lewes Police HQ in Church Road, said: 'I think it's very unfair.

'I came back to the car and tried to explain but the warden didn't want to know.

'I have problems breathing and my doctors said I ought to get a disabled badge and this was the very first time I'd used it.

'What makes it worse is the ticket says it I was parked in a pay and display car park without displaying a valid pay ticket, but I had the disabled badge and it didn't say anything about that.'

A spokesman for East Sussex County Council, which runs the hugely unpopular p

arking scheme in Lewes, said: 'Unfortunately, Blue Badge fraud is rife and parking attendants cannot properly identify whether one is forged or genuine if it is displayed upside down.

'That is why attendants up and down the country are under strict instruction to automatically issue parking tickets for this breach of the rules.

'These can be overturned at appeal if they are deemed to be unfair but, in this case, there was no appeal.'

Last week the Express reported the case of a Don Short, 85, a disabled Dunkirk war veteran who is almost blind, who was given a parking ticket - despite displaying a disabled badge on his wife's car.

In December Ann Teare 84, from Newick Green, was also given a ticket even though her disabled badge was visible.

In Mrs Teare's case the county council refused an appeal but cancelled the fine a week after her story appeared in the Sussex Express.

Source: Rye And Battle Observer

Parking fears for disabled drivers

IT has been claimed that plans by Moray Council to change markings on residential disabled parking spaces outside people's homes are likely to cause problems in the future.

However, a council spokesman maintains that nothing has changed.

Previously, disabled badge holders applying for their own parking space were allocated a reference number which was painted on their allotted space. Moray Council, however, now plans to phase out the codes and leave the spaces unmarked, with disabled markings painted outside the space instead.

"That means that any person with a disabled badge can park in anyone else's space," said Forres community councillor Eleanor Hayward when she raised the issue at the group's recent meeting. "What if someone goes out and comes home to find someone else in their space, and can't get into their house? I can see there being fights about this."

Mrs Hayward, who has been in contact with both her MSP, Richard Lochchead, and Moray Council on the subject, said the new proposals were a bit unfair. She also said it was confusing to change the system, if people were still under the impression that they had their own space.

Moray Council said that there are clear criteria for allocation of disabled parking space, which include the applicant holding a blue badge, but the spokesman added that legally speaking, any disabled badge holder could park in the space.

"All disabled parking facilities in residential areas are provided at the specific request of an individual," he said. "They are only allocated where that individual meets all the essential criteria within the council's policy on provision of disabled parking. The style of markings, which have now been in use for a number of years, differs from the old-style markings, but have the same meaning as far as their use is concerned."

He said that the old markings had a disabled logo and a reference number. The new markings only have the word "disabled" to comply with the Traffic Signs and General Directions 2002 legislation.

"Rather than remove the old markings – a reference number and logo – and replace them with the new 'disabled' markings, which would be a very costly exercise, we are allowing the old markings to eventually disappear through natural wastage," he said. "If a sign needs to be refreshed, it will be with the new markings. If it is no longer required, the markings will be removed."

The council claim that the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, which allows traffic to be regulated on a road, only allows space to be reserved for parking on a road in particular circumstances: for example by disabled drivers, HGV vehicles, for loading or taxis.

"Whether it is old or new markings, the legislation does not allow a disabled space to be reserved for the exclusive use of an individually named person," he said. "Any disabled badge holder can make use of these facilities."

After being approached by one local couple who had tried, but failed, to be allocated a disabled parking space, as the car driver was not the registered disabled person, Mrs Hayward e-mailed the Moray Council on their behalf to find out more about the system.

She said that she was astonished by what she found out, which could have serious repercussions for people who would struggle if they had to park any further than the space outside their homes.

She was told that Moray Council operated a strict policy on the allocation of parking facilities for the disabled, which involved an applicant meeting certain criteria before they would be considered, and that any markings were in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002.

Moray Council said they agreed that it would be unfair if another resident in the area, who failed to meet the criteria, continually utilised the facility requested by an individual who did satisfy all the criteria.

Local disabled campaigner Kenny Shand, who works with the Leonard Cheshire group to make improvements for disabled people and has been instrumental in securing changes around the Forres area, said that the changes to the system were bound to cause problems.

"When I first got my parking bay outside my house, a blue disabled badge was placed on my gate," he said. "This is different to others I had seen on other bays, and there are still two different types out there."

He said that under this proposal, he could go out and then come home to find someone else parked in the allocated spot.

"I cannot get any other parking space near my house," he said, "so I would have to go and look for a space nearby and try to get back to my house. If disabled users could do that, they wouldn't need to ask for an allocated parking spot."

Mr Shand said that if the allocated spots were turned into disabled parking bays for all, it would create a huge problem for all disabled drivers and families who really needed them.

He accused Moray Council of not thinking through the plans properly, or considering the problems that the changes were going to cause. "Who did they talk to about this?" he said. "They need to put themselves in our situation and then think again."

Mr Shand is asking anyone with an allocated parking bay, or who is likely to be affected by the new proposals, to contact him by e-mailing comments@disabilityhelp-scotland.co.uk, or writing to 'The Forres Gazette".
Source: Forres Gazette

Free guide to Chicago for the disabled

Chicago is offering a new free guide for visitors with disabilities called "Easy Access Chicago."

Basic visitor information for city attractions like Millennium Park, Navy Pier, Wrigley Field and the Sears Tower are all in the guide, along with details on accommodations like ramps and elevators, handicapped parking, Braille signage and assistive listening devices, and accessible bathrooms, counters and ticket windows.

Other tips include how to get a 21-day pass for paratransit services or arrange free guided tours for visitors with disabilities through the Chicago Greeter program, which offers 40 special interest areas and 25 neighbourhoods to choose from (details at http://www.chicagogreeter.com or 312-744-8000).

"Easy Access Chicago" can be ordered by mail at no charge from the Illinois Bureau of Tourism at 800-226-6632 or by visiting http://www.enjoyillinois.com. It can also be downloaded in a PDF format from http://www.easyaccesschicago.org. You'll find the link near the bottom of the welcome screen.

Last year Chicago was named one of America's most disability-friendly cities by the National Organization on Disability. All the city's public buses are wheelchair-accessible. Each July, the city hosts the largest Disability Pride Parade in the nation as well as AccessChicago, a products and services expo.

Source: The Canadian Press

Marriott must provide golf carts for disabled

The world's largest golf resort management company has discriminated against disabled golfers and must provide carts that let them hit the ball without stepping on the course, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Monday.

Marriott International, which owns or operates 26 courses nationwide including Half Moon Bay Golf Links, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying mobility-impaired golfers the same access as their able-bodied counterparts, said U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton.

Lawyers for three disabled golfers said it is the first ruling in the nation that requires private golf clubs to offer accessible carts, which are controlled by hand and have seats that swivel. A disabled player can use them to navigate an entire course, including putting greens and sand traps, without leaving the vehicle or damaging the course, said attorney Sid Wolinsky of Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley.

In September, the Defense Department said it would provide similar golf carts at all U.S. military bases. The Justice Department negotiated a settlement in 2002 that required the city of Indianapolis to use the carts at its public courses.

In a statement through his lawyers, plaintiff Richard Thesing of Atherton said it was "particularly short-sighted for a corporation such as Marriott, with billions in annual revenue, to refuse to spend such a minimal amount to allow people with disabilities to enjoy a round of golf."

Thesing, who uses a wheelchair because of injuries from a traffic accident, heads an organization called Mobility Golf.

Marriott did not respond to a request for comment.

One ruling Hamilton cited was the 2001 Supreme Court decision allowing professional golfer Casey Martin, who suffers from a degenerative leg disorder, to use a golf cart in tournaments. The court found that the PGA was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, rejecting the association argument that walking is an essential part of the sport.

Marriott argued that it was providing access to disabled golfers by allowing them to use their own specialized carts, and by a pilot project of providing the carts on four company-owned courses, a project that started after the suit was filed in 2006. The company also contended the carts posed safety hazards and said courts should await Justice Department regulations, which have been in the works since 2004.

But Hamilton said the plaintiffs wouldn't be able to load their own carts onto a trailer, couldn't take advantage of the pilot project at most Marriott courses, and wouldn't have equal access, or any access, under the company's current policy. She also said there was no evidence that the accessible carts had caused any injuries in 20 years of use and noted that the Justice Department regulations may be years away.

"Marriott's current policy does not provide plaintiffs, mobility-impaired golfers, with an experience that is functionally equivalent to that of other nondisabled golfers," the judge said. "Nondisabled golfers can simply show up at the course, and Marriott will provide them with a functional cart as part of the cost of their round of golf.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Institutional care for disabled people in EU not satisfactory

Institutional care for disabled people in the European Union (EU) continues to fall short of acceptable standards in many cases, a report released Tuesday by the European Commission says.

The report recommends a wider use of community-based quality services instead of institutional care.

"Quality of life in these institutions varies greatly and dignity for their residents is not always guaranteed," said Vladimir Spidla, EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities.

"I am confident this commission study, with a solid scientific basis, will help member states and stakeholders transform services for disabled people from institutions to quality social services in the community."

Over 1 million disabled people live in institutional care in the 27-member EU.

The European Commission financed a study on the development of community-based services for people with disabilities. The study was carried out by the University of Kent and the London School of Economics.

It confirmed that institutional care is often of unacceptably poor quality. Sometimes the conditions in institutional care may represent serious breaches of internationally accepted human rights standards.

Community-based services, when properly established and managed, can deliver better outcomes in terms of life quality and ensure that disabled people can live lives as full as able-bodied citizens.

The study found that services in the community are not more expensive than institutional care, once the needs of residents and quality of care are taken into account in calculating the costs.

Source: XinhuaNet