Parking has become like a sport.
If you’re not someone who can park in disabled or ‘pram‘ spots, then most people will do their absolute best to park closest to the entry.
You might even drive for an extra 10 (or 20… or 30) minutes looking for the perfect spot, in which time you could have parked in the first space you saw, jumped out of the car, and already be in the shops.
It seems that people are over having to search for a car park, especially when parents with prams often get the best pick.
Listen to a snippet of This Glorious Mess to see if pram parking is really for “snowflake” parents. (Post continues after audio…)
In an opinion piece for Rendez-View, Dr Jane Fynes-Clinton questioned whether pram parking should be scrapped in favour of more disability spots.
“Prams are not the unwieldy contraptions they once were and children need to learn the way of the carpark, not have the carparks moulded around them,” Dr Fynes-Clinton wrote.
“And on average, expansion around waists generally suggest that older people and parents of young children need to walk far more than they do, so parking with the herd and getting the legs working would seem advisable.
“Disability parks are needed for people to give them equal access to facilities and include them in the community.”
“Definitely. But, I’ve got a disabled brother so, I’m… aware,” Andrew said.”The people who park in disabled spots…’Hello, darkness my old friend.’ I nearly got in a very big fight once. There was a two-door convertible BMW that pulled into this spot. I was waiting for Jac and the kids to come out of the supermarket.
“The people who park in disabled spots…’Hello, darkness my old friend.’ I nearly got in a very big fight once. There was a two-door convertible BMW that pulled into this spot. I was waiting for Jac and the kids to come out of the supermarket.
Andrew and his family. Image via Instagram.
"I went, 'Hey guys. It looks like you're fine. Probably shouldn't park there.' He tells me where to go and the next guy gets out. They're gym-junkies and they're standing looking at me, 'Whaddya say?'
"'I'm just saying you look fine.' Two more guys get out of the car and there're four enormous guys in front of me. I've called them something rude because I was highly agitated about it. I was wondering why they didn't punch me up. Then, as they walked off, I looked around behind me and there's a fire engine full of firies waiting behind me."
Of course, able-bodied people park in disability spaces all the time, which partly motivated Dr Fynes-Clinton's piece, which also ponders if people without a disability permit should be fined for parking in a disabled spot.
But, does that mean we should get rid of pram parking, too? Can't we have both?
Fellow co-host, Holly Wainwright, thinks so.
"When my kids were little I used to use the pram parking spots, but I don't use them anymore because I don't have a pram," Holly said.
"It is a pain juggling prams in and out of cars, folding them up and down, and getting the kid into the car, and you're worried about the kid running away. So, if it can be a little bit easier then, I think that's okay.
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I have 2 children, 3.5 and 1.5 and I still use parents with pram spots when I'm with them as the little one still travels in a pram. Mostly I use these spaces because they are bigger, I can pull a trolley/pram up alongside the car and put them in. Also when bub was a tiny baby in a capsule it was easier to open the door wide enough to get him in/out.
I'd still use these parks if they were right up the back of the lot just for the bit of extra space.
Also, as far as I know, if all disabled spaces are being used, people with a disability can park in the parents spots. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong here?
*Parents with prams parking spots are offered by private car park operators to parents as a courtesy and NSW law does not provide for their enforcement*.
From https://www.mynrma.com.au/c...
I always think its funny when people say they need to park close because of health issues but then can walk all around the bloody mall for two hours. But still, here's a really good reason to have pram parking... because the a holes who make car parks, don't give a crap about the safety of your children, and don't even provide footpaths. It's a free for all out there and the safety and wellbeing of the most vulnerable should be what matters, ultimately.