Is getting a parking ticket a life-or-death issue for you?
KATE Dexter's world was turned upside down following a car accident in September 2006.
The independent young woman suddenly found herself wheelchair bound with the prospect of tackling the daily challenges of life in a totally new way.
In a bid to retain her independence she relies on her car, which plays a crucial role in her position as a part-time support worker with the charity MIND and a social worker with children’s services.
But her quest to help others has been blighted by the constant battle she faces in Lynn’s car parks.
When Mrs Dexter (31), of Clenchwarton, begins her search for a parking space she often finds the limited designated bays are already taken.
Her attention then turns to finding a double space which will allow her the necessary room to get in and out of her vehicle.
Stage three sees her running the gauntlet of getting to the pay machine avoiding a collision with a car cruising round the rows of parked vehicles.
Then there is the final challenge of a painful stretch to reach the cash machine, which often stands in a bulky concrete base for added inconvenience.
After witnessing her ordeal you easily understand the anger she feels when reading letters which say disabled motorists should pay and implying they are selfish and scrounging off the state.
Mrs Dexter said: “I do not think the people who have been writing these letters have any comprehension of how difficult it is to get out of the car, let alone pay.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
“It is absolutely impossible. On a busy day you are lucky to get a disabled space as they are so few and far between.
“I often have to drive around for a long time before I find either the elusive wide space, or the double space I need, which means that my precious time, which could be used helping vulnerable people, is completely wasted.
“If I use a double space the fun really begins as I have to use a pay machine. This entails running the very scary gauntlet of the car park to get to the machine and back to my car and then to the shops.
“Most modern vehicles have quite high rear windscreens and a wheelchair user in a manual chair is not visible. In the past month I have nearly been hit by reversing cars four times.”
In an online poll 53 per cent of Lynn News readers thought the council was right to scrap free parking for the disabled and we have been inundated with letters arguing both for and against the move.
Mrs Dexter said she has no problem with paying to park so long as the services available meet the needs of the disabled motorist.
She added: “I have been horrified by some of the letters, not just on a personal level but as a social worker as well.
“We are already so disadvantaged compared to able-bodied people. Anything we do takes three times as long.
“If they expect us to pay we expect the same facilities as able-bodied people.
“They want people to use buses or walk. That is why, traditionally, we have not paid to park as we do not have the choice.
“The buses are a joke. They do not lower to the kerb and in Clenchwarton I cannot even get to the bus stop.
“People do not understand just how difficult life is.”
Mrs Dexter believes the only way for the pay system to work is if money is taken in monthly instalments or if the disabled motorist can pay without leaving their car.
She has also called for people to be more sympathetic to their cause.
Mrs Dexter added: “With the Government making an issue of incapacity benefit it has become quite fashionable to bash disabled people, saying we sit around doing nothing.
“We do not have the equal opportunities, so continuing to bash us is not helpful.
“We have blue badges for a reason, it is not because we want an easy life. We want the same opportunities as other people.”
richard.long@lynnnews.co.uk
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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