Shopping centres on disabled parking bays
The City Times asked three shopping centres in Benoni, that accommodate their disabled customers with special parking bays, to give their views on their disabled parking bay systems.
Lakeside Mall general manager Chantell Roemer said: “Lakeside Mall management take our responsibility to manage disabled parking bays on behalf of our valued customers seriously and, to this end, a strong stance has been adopted against people who park in the disabled parking without the legal and correct disabled parking stickers.”
She said the accepted sticker is blue, with a picture of a wheelchair on it, which has been issued by either the Quadriplegic Association, or the Gauteng Provincial Association for Persons with Disabilities.
“We are aware that these bays have not necessarily been managed correctly in the past,” Roemer added.
“However, given the large number of complaints the mall has experienced from customers who have legitimate claims to such bays and are not able to make use of same, due to others abusing these facilities, the abuse has to be stopped.”
Roemer said that, for the benefit of customers who are not permanently disabled but do have temporary disabilities, due to medical procedures, the mall offers “priority parking” stickers which can be applied for through the centre management office.
“This priority parking is mostly aimed at pensioners and moms with tots, but other applications which are valid will be taken into consideration,” she added.
“The applications for 2014 opened on November 15 and discs will be issued in January, after they have been approved by management.”
Stellio Coutsides, centre manager at Northmead Square, said the centre has more disabled parking bays than required by legislation.
“This is so that we can accommodate all customers who are disabled, as well as people who are elderly or otherwise incapacitated,” he explained.
“We will not be prejudiced against a customer who may not qualify for a disabled sticker.”
Northmead Mall manager Sophia Steyn said: “We are relatively strict with it — our disabled parking bays are situated near the entrances of our roof and outside parking areas.”
She added that this is done to protect disabled customers and prevent the abuse of the bays.
“Our car guards monitor if people who park on these parking bays have parking discs.
Read about disabled parking procedure at: https://www.citizen.co.za/benoni-city-times/160244/disabled-parking-procedure/
