Wheel and Wave!
Raise your cane and Rejoice!
Not only do the revellers on Spring Garden have something to celebrate this Crop Over season, but so too does the community of persons with disabilities.

For years, we have been pleading with those inconsiderate motorists who indiscriminately park in the designated parking for persons with disabilities.  They seem not to recognise that these parking spaces were allocated not because people had nothing else to do with the space but because some members of our community have mobility challenges which require that they park close to an entrance.

According to the amended Road Traffic Act laid in Parliament last Tuesday, persons unlawfully parking in parking designated for persons with disabilities will receive a citation from the police.  This means that offenders will find it a costly parking spot and hopefully will choose less pricey locations to deposit their vehicles.  Public service appeals have encouraged drivers to seek alternative parking and thankfully, some people have begun to acknowledge the requests. 

Very few appreciate how long five minutes can be when you�re sitting in a car waiting for a disabled parking bay to open up so you can get in to your wheelchair and go off to do your business.  Some have found out when they became temporarily disabled how upsetting it can be to see robust healthy persons dropping their vehicles in these spots and sprinting towards the entrance.

Another major annoyance is those drivers who park their vehicles obstructing dropped curbs, driveways or ramps.  Picture it!  You are attending a show at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, you�ve driven all the way to Wildey and on arriving there, and you can�t get in because somebody has parked blocking the gate.  �Couldn�t happen� you say, �Police would never allow it!�  That�s true, and neither should others be allowed to obstruct points of access for persons with disabilities, persons with strollers or the general public.

Coupled with the callous attitude displayed by some, comes the absolute ignorance of the rights of persons with disabilities shown by others, who suggest that if a person is disabled, then they shouldn�t be out.

For the past four years, the Council has been issuing public service parking ids to identify vehicles as transporting a person with a disability.  Last year, we partnered with the Barbados Association of Rehabilitation Therapists in the distribution of Parking Violation fliers.   Through these initiatives, the challenges associated with the abuse of these parking bays have been highlighted and more people are paying attention to our needs.  .

As a country whose development is being monitored all over the world, it is indeed heart-warming that our nation is evolving in to a society where value for all of its citizens is becoming a priority.  Visitors to our island, both with and without disabilities are beginning to recognise that we are a people committed to building up our country TO BECOME A TRULY INCLUSIVE SOCIETY.

For further information please contact the Barbados Council for the Disabled at 427-8136 Website: barbadosdisabled.org.bb