Respect parking bays designated for people with disabilities – APD
"It is distressing to witness people's disregard to designated parking bays for people with disabilities," says Maria Stone, APD social worker
POLOKWANE – The Association for Persons with Disability (APD) Limpopo has made an appeal to the community to not stop on parking bays designated for people with disabilities.
Maria Stone, APD social worker, said it is distressing to witness people’s disregard to designated parking bays for people with disabilities which means disabled people need to stop elsewhere and struggle to get in and out of their vehicles.
She explained parking bays which are reserved for persons with disabilities are wider than normal parking spaces to allow ample space to move from a motor vehicle to a wheelchair or any other device to assist movement. These parking bays are strategically placed near the entrances of buildings to minimise fatigue to assist persons with severe mobility impairment. Persons with disability pay a fee to obtain and renew parking permits to make use of these parking bays.
“Each time a non-disabled person parks in a parking bay reserved for persons with disability, a barrier is created which prevents that person from freely participating in society,” she said. There are parking discs available for disabled people, she explained, that permit them to legally occupy disabled parking bays. People who qualify for a parking disc are those who are in wheelchairs, use two crutches or walking frames and struggle to get in and out of vehicles. She added people older than three years living with severe mobility impairment qualify for these permits.
She explained the application process. “Contact must be made with APD Limpopo for an invitation to a screening meeting with a panel consisting of a social worker, a nurse, sister Julie Potgieter and traffic officer, Ben Stolz. The screening meetings are held the last Friday of the month. New applications cost R105 and renewals cost R55 and permanent permits must be renewed every two years. Temporary permits are available but are only valid for the indicated period,” she said.
Stone added applications must be accompanied by the correct amount stated, they must have two recent ID photos and a doctor’s letter if requested. “Anyone who is found to be abusing the disability parking permit will be subject to disqualification and the disk will be confiscated,” she explained. For more information about the parking permits, contact Stone or Christa van der Walt at (015) 291 1787/8, send an e-mail to socialwork2@apdlimpopo.co.za or visit www.apdlimpopo.org.
