Parking privileges for pregnant women

[lph]

what really gets me is the way so many stores are built to accommodate cars while people on foot don't get safe passage. What are pedestrians supposed to be doing out in a parking lot in the first place?! Our large residential area has very restricted access for cars and is very child- and pedestrian friendly, but to go grocery shopping 400 yards away you have to cross the road (on an ok ped crossing), but then cross diagonally across the entire entrance area to the parking lot, which has no designated walking areas, is almost unlit and where drivers come zooming up from the highway and swerve in to grab some groceries before heading home. It's bloody lethal, and idiotic planning. It was the one place I was worried about letting my son walk to when he was smaller - the local grocery store And he has had the run of the neighbourhood and the local woods since he was school age.

[shootingstar]

what really gets me is the way so many stores are built to accommodate cars while people on foot don't get safe passage. What are pedestrians supposed to be doing out in a parking lot in the first place?!

I hope folks here remember that I have several sisters who have had several multiple pregnancies and so got to hear their complaints..usually in final trimester. Not before.

Obviously I need to get pregnant to truly know...

OR like everyone else we will all grow old and more frail over time, so we will experience the shoddy treatment that we will receive from time to time.

As for safe pedestrian walkways, lph. I totally agree. The more we plan helpful safe walkways now..it will benefit way more people in the end.

[Biciclista]

Shooting star, your sisters had several multiple pregnancies? Lots of twins and triplets? how many??

Cataboo,you're right, I'm sorry. I have just known a few people with handicapped permits who REALLY would have been okay without them. I've just watched the wheel chair set of our society grow exponentially in my life and it scares the dickens out of me.

[Cataboo]

Shooting star, your sisters had several multiple pregnancies? Lots of twins and triplets? how many??

Cataboo,you're right, I'm sorry. I have just known a few people with handicapped permits who REALLY would have been okay without them. I've just watched the wheel chair set of our society grow exponentially in my life and it scares the dickens out of me.

Oh, no worries - it's actually harder to get a handicapped parking pass than you would think, at least it is here (my father once had to bring my little brother in a wheelchair to the DMV because they were giving him such a hardtime and refusing to give him a placard despite having the correct paperwork). It's sort of like getting disability or being prescribed pain meds, despite the fact it seems like everyone's abusing it, it's really hard for those who actually need it to get it.

I have a friend from high school who got swine flu a year and a half ago - it got into her lungs and she couldn't clear it for about 5 months, and she's been diagnosed with at least 3 chronic illnesses over the last year. Most days, she can barely get out of bed. Yet, she has to keep her job and for the most part, she looks fine. Tired, but fine. So the whole looking fine while being very sick has made it difficult for her to get her job to be flexible (many doctor letters later, she's allowed to work from home half the week) and she does have a handicapped parking pass. There are a few times when I've encouraged her to do a lot of walking (okay, by a lot, I'm talking about 8 blocks or maybe a mile, so really not a lot...) and she does do it. But what happens is that she spends the next few days paying for that exertion and unable to work or get out of bed. I have been places with her that people wouldn't believe she had anything wrong with her or give her access to handicap spots because of it. I know her well enough to know that she's never been a lazy person, and she hates the limitations on her life. And I hope that in the future she finds a way to manage things so that she can function and doesn't need handicapped parking, 'cause she's in her mid 30s and possibly facing spending the rest of her life like this... But the reality is that she does need handicapped parking until she or the doctors figure out a way for her to function. But she also shouldn't have to justify or explain her entire medical history to people that think she looks fine and shouldn't be using handicapped parking.

So, it's easy to say people need to walk and it's good for them. And I agree, americans don't do nearly enough walking. And i guess I'm being naive thinking that most people who have a handicapped parking spot would be quite happy to give that up for better health and that most family members of people who have a handicapped parking spot realize how important those spots are to the actually handicapped and don't abuse them.

[jessmarimba]

I had a temporary permit with my back, which I used whether or not I was wearing my brace. I looked perfectly healthy without it.

Walking was good for me but it was pretty hazardous for me to get back to my car with my purchases. My balance still isn't what it used to be.

What I find really amusing is that our open spaces are required to have handicapped spots at the trailheads. Which is funny to me b/c why would I need to park an extra 10 feet closer if I was going out for a 3 mile hike? It's not like these are paved, wheelchair accessible trails! I never figured out the logic behind those.

[OakLeaf]

Thanks for your comments, Cataboo, I totally agree.

I will say though, that at least in Ohio, to get a parking pass, your doctor needs to certify that you're unable to walk a certain distance without difficulty. I totally understand that someone doesn't need to be an amputee or a paraplegic to need a parking sticker, but when I see someone get out of a car with a handicapped placard and stride quickly and purposely to and through the store, I think I'm justified in assuming that it's not their pass.

It's such a problem at the NASCAR races in Daytona that they set up special enforcement. A dozen or more people get busted every event for borrowing a placard from a relative or friend, so they can get a primo parking space, and not have to walk so far to the grandstand where they'll be sitting and drinking beer for four hours.


ETA - I think the person who lends the placard should get busted in those cases, too. They more than anyone should know the need for accessibility and appreciate how they're taking the parking space away from someone who actually does need it.