What's got your goat? People not following mobility parking rules
By: Adam Blackwell
Stuff: 02:58pm, June 06, 2024
There are 160,000 people across the country with mobility parking permits, according to CCS Disability Action’s database.
Disability advocates say the abuse of mobility parking can further isolate people who are already marginalised - and it’s happening every day in New Zealand.
Raewyn Hailes, a CCS Disability Action access advisor, said there were 160,000 people across the country with mobility parking permits, according to its database.
CCS Disability Action received calls daily from people who couldn’t use their permit because all of the mobility spots where they were trying to park were full.
Hailes said people often used the parks without a permit and there were not enough mobility parks.
An observational study undertaken by CCS Disability Action in 2016 found 31% of cars parked in mobility spaces did not show a permit. The sample included 361 randomly observed vehicles at different mobility spaces.
The Ministry of Transport is currently looking into updating the fees for mobility parking infringements.
How does it affect people?
Nicola Rogers, who lives in Canterbury, often sees people using mobility parks without a permit.
Rogers and her father both have mobility issues and her father has had a mobility card for three years.
She needed to use mobility parks because standard car parks were not wide enough to get the car doors fully open in order to get her father out of the car.
Rogers noticed people breaking the rules in two ways; parking without a mobility card and parking with a mobility card but remaining in the car.
“People are taking advantage of those car parks when the people who actually need them can’t park there.”
On a recent trip to the supermarket, Rogers said all four mobility parks were taken. Three of the cars weren’t displaying a permit and the forth had someone sitting in it.
Claire Dale, a mobility parking advocate, said some people would go home instead of attending an appointment or going shopping if there were no mobility parks available.
“So what happens is they go home. They don’t do their shopping. It further isolates people who are already marginalised.”
CCS Disability Action receives calls daily from people who can’t use their permit because all of the mobility parks are full. (File photo)
MOBILITY PARKING ACTION
What can be done to stop it?
Dale submitted a petition to the government in February 2022, which went through the Petitions Committee and was debated in Parliament in March.
She wanted to see fines increased and the rules standardised between public and private parking spaces.
“Our fines should be in line with countries we compare ourselves to, like Australia, the US, Canada, the UK.”
The fine for parking in a mobility park without a permit is $150 in New Zealand. In Australia it can be over four times as much.
The fine is A$644 (NZ$692) and a demerit point in New South Wales and A$619 (NZ$666) in Queensland.
Hailes said CCS Disability Action was supportive of increasing fines and also wanted demerit points added as an extra deterrent.
Transport minister Simeon Brown said he was currently getting advice from the Ministry of Transport on updating the fees for mobility parking infringements.
Infringement fees were an important tool for deterring people from misusing mobility parks, Brown said.
However, infringement fees for parking offences had not been updated in some time, with some not being updated since they were enacted in the Land Transport (Offences and Penalties) Regulations 1999.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown said he was currently getting advice from the Ministry of Transport on updating the fees for mobility parking infringements.
ROBERT KITCHIN / THE POST
“Mobility parking is important to the New Zealanders who rely on it for access every day,” Brown said.
“When mobility parking is misused, the lives of those New Zealanders are considerably disrupted.”
A Ministry of Transport spokesperson said the review into parking fees would include considering a mechanism for regularly reviewing the fees so they didn't become outdated again.
Public parking v private parking
Dale said for the public to comply with mobility parking rules, enforcement needed to be standardised across public and private spaces - such as supermarkets.
A phone app made by CCS Disability Action, that is no longer in operation, allowed people to send in photos of cars parked in mobility parks against the rules.
About 60% of the complaints lodged on the app were for cars parked in private spaces and 40% in public spaces.
Local authorities only control parking in public spaces, Dale would like to see changes made so they could enforce the mobility parking rules in private spaces as well.
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said it was critical that mobility parking was available and accessible so all members of the community could go to the store.
“I think all retailers would agree that they want to be able to have spaces for everyone to be able to come in and visit their stores and have easy access as they need it.”
Young said lots of shopping malls and other stores did monitor parking.
As for councils monitoring private car parks, Young said she had doubts about the feasibility of it and there were commercial questions such as who would pay for it.
“When private business already have a way in which they manage and monitor parking in their space I don’t think they would necessarily feel that would add a lot more value.”
Young said a lot of the issue fell back on the community and people needing to be respectful of the parks by leaving them for those who needed them.
A spokesperson for Foodstuffs, which owns New World, PAK’nSAVE and Four Square, said all of its stores were locally owned and operated by grocers who were working to provide a great customer experience and service for their community.
This included providing all of their customers with the best possible access, space and convenience to park at its stores while shopping.
About 60% of the complaints lodged on CCS Disability Action’s app were for cars parked in private spaces and 40% in public spaces. (File photo)
MOBILITY PARKING ACTION
“While the Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island co-ops don’t have a unified policy on mobility parks at our stores, the number of mobility parking spaces our stores provide for customers complies with the NZ Building Code, and we work with local communities and authorities on a case by case basis.”
A Woolworths NZ spokesperson said it had over 185 stores in a variety of locations including stores where it controlled the car park and shared sites where parking forms part of a shopping centre.
“If an unauthorised vehicle is parked in a mobility park, one of our team will often make an in-store announcement asking the vehicle owner to remove the vehicle.
“Further intervention is considered in the context of the potential reaction of the owner, as there have been instances where intervention has resulted in aggression towards our team.”
Unauthorised vehicles could be issued a breach notice but were not towed or clamped.
“We recognise the importance of mobility parks for our community and would ask anyone who notices an unauthorised vehicle in a mobility park to let our team in store know,” the spokesperson said.
Could technology help?
Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston said there was no excuse for using mobility parking without a permit.
Upston said she supported improving compliance and enforcement of mobility parking regulations, and was looking forward to working with her ministerial colleagues on the range of options to address accessibility barriers for disabled people.
“The Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha is already in talks with agencies and community organisations on ways to do this, such as education programs for changing people’s behaviour and using technology to increase detection of mobility parking abuse.”
Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says there is no excuse for using mobility parking without a permit.
ROBERT KITCHIN / THE POST
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has seen how the use of CCTV can change the mindset of people who might use mobility parking without a permit.
A council spokesperson said it had zero tolerance for people using mobility spaces unlawfully and it used a combination of CCTV and parking officers on the ground to ensure good compliance.
It didn’t have a clear breakdown of how CCTV affected infringements because it had been phased in gradually.
“However, experience has shown that the likelihood of infringement via CCTV does change the mindset of people without the appropriate permit who might otherwise have considered using a mobility parking space,” the spokesperson said.
“In that sense, CCTV has helped us ensure the correct users are able to occupy these spaces.”
The number of annual infringements issued by QLDC for the offence of using parking spaces reserved for the disabled were 432 in 2020, 311 in 2021, 68 in 2022, 146 in 2023, and 176 in 2024 (to May 24).
- Stuff
Last Updated 15/06/2024
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