Parking: What does the panel think?

[Dieselman]

Does anyone have good information as to who can qualify for a Blue badge? Does it have to be for lack of ability to be able to walk far, or can other forms of disability qualify?

 

[Teflonso]

Does anyone have good information as to who can qualify for a Blue badge? Does it have to be for lack of ability to be able to walk far, or can other forms of disability qualify?

Look on your local authority website, because although they are issued centrally, the request and approval is made locally and local rules vary slightly.

Getting cancer and being under treatment for it is a great way to get a blue badge, although not a route that I would advocate. Once in remission you have to give the badge back. An aunt has kept hers, because after having half of each lung cut out, followed by two knee replacements her walking is prejudiced by both pain and lack of puff.

A temporary problem like a busted leg won't get you a badge.

Being in receipt of higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance is also pretty much an automatic route to getting a blue badge, although eligibility is subject to regular review (unless you have something permanent and irreversable like my case) and the rules are being constantly tightened.

The replacement of DLA by Personal Independence Payments (PIP) has led to a rewriting of the qualification rules and some very dodgy practices by private contract assessors - meaning that many genuinely deserving people may now be excluded; all the disability charities are up in arms about it.

Having a disabled child is also a pretty safe bet, although in this case it isn't so much about walking distance (you are going to be pushing them in a chair), more about having guaranteed access to wider parking spaces and/or other key features.



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[Giantvanman]

Does anyone have good information as to who can qualify for a Blue badge? Does it have to be for lack of ability to be able to walk far, or can other forms of disability qualify?

If only it was mobility issues only………….the biggest bugbear is people who qualify for a blue badge but because they don't have a car, someone else get's to use it. The badge is only meant to be used when the car is being used to take the applicant somewhere but who checks that?

We know of someone who had a very mild case of incontinence whose daughter used the badge daily.

 

[Dieselman]

We know of someone who had a very mild case of incontinence whose daughter used the badge daily.

Now that's just taking the piss.

 

[Teflonso]

p.s. Yes, it is Hollowgate in Rotherham.

Having looked on Google Streetview, the OP parked opposite a junction which arguably wouldn't have been a terribly smart move, even if double yellows were there. It would have caused problems for large vehicles turning into the un-named private (?) road opposite. It could still have been worth a ticket.

Moreover, there's a single yellow line only about 10 yards further back up the main road and even the most enthusiatic of Jobsworths couldn't have found fault parking there. The strret signage for that section is a good 150 yards back up a steep hill, so wouldn't be admissable as adequate for a blue badge holder. Shouda parked there.


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[Teflonso]

We know of someone who had a very mild case of incontinence whose daughter used the badge daily.

So dob her in.

In fact, dob them both in, because there's no version of incontinence that will get you a badge, no way no how - just a prescription for some pads and some rubber pants. That sort of stuff, people with plumbus rotatus misusing a badge really makes my pee fizz.

Of course, she/he might have something much more problematic, but doesn't want you to know her/his business. No pun intended.


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[flango]

p.s. Yes, it is Hollowgate in Rotherham.

Having looked on Google Streetview, the OP parked opposite a junction which arguably wouldn't have been a terribly smart move, even if double yellows were there. It would have caused problems for large vehicles turning into the un-named private (?) road opposite. It could still have been worth a ticket.

Moreover, there's a single yellow line only about 10 yards further back up the main road and even the most enthusiatic of Jobsworths couldn't have found fault parking there. The strret signage for that section is a good 150 yards back up a steep hill, so wouldn't be admissable as adequate for a blue badge holder. Shouda parked there.


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Think you missed the whole point " He's a disabled driver that cant walk more than a few hundred yards", let alone up a steep hill hence the reason for parking where he did. The road you refer to opposite was closed off because of the works in that area so no obstruction to access was being committed neither was he parked too close to a junction. Google street view must be out of date as the road is double yellows top to bottom on that side and there was no available parking on the other side.

 

[flango]

I'm not being argumentative, but specifically on which point, or points, are you saying that Cinek is correct, please?

Road markings and signage does not comply with government regulations in the act quoted by Cinek which is in the statutes.

Also the authority and contractors have a duty to correct road markings for the prevailing conditions, which they clearly failed to do.


As both of the above are correct no offence can have been committed.

Appeal gone in this morning will update when we get a response

 

[Teflonso]

Think you missed the whole point " He's a disabled driver that cant walk more than a few hundred yards", let alone up a steep hill hence the reason for parking where he did. The road you refer to opposite was closed off because of the works in that area so no obstruction to access was being committed neither was he parked too close to a junction. Google street view must be out of date as the road is double yellows top to bottom on that side and there was no available parking on the other side.

Think you missed the point - I was saying that with the signage for the single lines 150 yards up a steep hill, a blue badge holder couldn't be expected to consult the sign. There's no signage at the bottom. Unless Google Earth is wrong on that too. Read my post again, slowly this time.

Looking a bit further, the PCN is supposedly for "parking on a drop kerb". This suggests that he wasn't even parked fully in the former entrance but was at least partly on the drop kerb. As a wheelchair user, I can tell you that's particularly inconvenient. All in all, he had good parking options 10 yards away so I'm voting that the PCN was warranted. But it costs nowt to challenge it, which I'd do anyway. If the photo evidence they supply doesn't show him on either the upper or lower drop kerb then he's in the clear, because they can't retrospectively change their mind about what the offence was.

The road opposite being blocked off for work isn't a get out of jail card. The fact there was work makes it even more likely that large vehicles would want access. Parking well on the kerb/former entry negates this as an issue of course, but it's not an argument he could use in future in similar circumstances. The yellow lines exemption for badge holders isn't carte blanche - it has to be used considerately. If he's parked opposite a junction then by default he's too close to one - it's the same as the night parking rule that my old man got a ticket for about 40 years ago when we lived opposite a junction.

The street view is from July 2012, but I'm in Rotherham on Wednesday so will take a look to see if it has changed. Here's the wider view from Google - it looks like your chum picked the very worst place to park. Even if the single line is now double yellows, he would have been scott free if he'd just gone 10 yards further up the hill. I find it inconceivable that there was no parking on the other side of the road either.



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[flango]

I'm not being argumentative but there is no dropped kerb it is an entrance. If it were a dropped kerb the kerb would not continue around the corner to where you see the tap tiles. The kerb clearly ends and starts between the tap tiles the area in between is a foot way not a foot path.

However another thought has just struck me we are all concentrating on the entrance, maybe the offence is actually parking between the two sets of dropped kerbs from the tap tiles? Even so as the road markings are not correct no offence can have been committed think we need some clarity on the actual offence which hopefully we will get soon.

As in my OP he was half way in and half way out of the old entrance but left plenty of room down the nearside for wheelchairs. The area back to your single line in google street view is actually a lot more than 10 yards on an incline which he could not walk up.

I'm pretty sure when I was there Saturday it was double yellows top to bottom but I could actually be mistaken on that but you can confirm or otherwise if you are in the area Wednesday. I actually agree it the road opposite was in use it was not a smart place to park but last week and on Saturday it was coned off.

 

[cinek]

Tack-tiles are normally used to aid visually impaired in crossing the carriageway, not crossing access point / entrance.

Cant have a look again as the original photos have been removed.

Anyway, how far in the footway was the car parked?
Absolute minimum, of unobstructed footway left to pedestrians has to be no less than 1m.

It would be unusual for traffic warden to issue a penalty ticket based on that, but then again - not unheard of (think of the mobile speed entrapment, DVLA enforcements vehicles, etc. which quite regularly contravene this requirement by blocking the whole of the footways).

There is no point to speculate any further at this stage, until you get the confirmation what exactly the alleged offence was.

 

[flango]

ntrance.

Cant have a look again as the original photos have been removed.

Anyway, how far in the footway was the car parked?
Absolute minimum, of unobstructed footway left to pedestrians has to be no less than 1m.

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Would appear I have problems with my Photobucket account hopefully pics will be restored soon but I cant access my account at the moment, but you can see them on Telefonso street views

Car had left a gap of over 1m between it and boarding.

Will post back when we get confirmation of what was actually in the parking wardens head when he issued the ticket

 

[crockers]

A blue badge holder can park on double yellow lines (bar Westminster, City of !London & Chelsea & Kensington) unless.

There are yellow no loading bars on the pavement or...and this is often missed there are double white lines in the centre of the road even if one is not solid.

I can't see these pictures but from what I've read it appears the attendant has been over zealous and I'm sure the council will recind the ticket.

To qualify one has to have mobility problems that make walking 20 metres hard. Or as said before receive the higher mobility allowance.

 

[guydewdney]

To qualify one has to have mobility problems that make walking 20 metres hard. Or as said before receive the higher mobility allowance.


you know whats so ironic - my mrs (paraplegic T6) was in hospital with a guy who lost all feeling and movement in his arms due to spinal injury, but weirdly left his legs ok. He cant get a blue badge 'cos he can walk.....

My original post re parking on DYs is obv wrong - maybe I was getting confused with loading bays?

 

[meeeb]

Snippets keep being added onto the story. And I'm beginning to wonder if there's been some poetic licence in the telling in regard to proportion of the footway that was obstructed.

My guess is that the PCN was issued due to obstruction of the footway, and the road markings are completely irrelevant.

I don't know where the one meter tolerance that some have mentioned in relation to obstructing the footpath comes into it??

An extract from the DfT Blue Badge Rights and Responsibilities

"Safe and
responsible parking
Do not park where it would endanger,
inconvenience or obstruct pedestrians or
other road users. Examples of dangerous
or obstructive parking include the following,
although there are others:
• school entrances, bus stops, on a bend,
or near the brow of a hill or hump bridge;
• where it would make it difficult for others
to see clearly, such as close to a junction;
• where it would make the road narrow,
such as by a traffic island or roadworks;
• where it would hold up traffic, such as
in narrow stretches of road or blocking
vehicle entrances;
• where emergency vehicles stop or go in
and out, such as hospital entrances;
• where the kerb has been lowered or the
road raised to help wheelchair users; and
• on a pavement, unless signs permit it.
The Blue Badge is not a licence to
park anywhere. If you park where it
would cause an obstruction or danger
to other road users your vehicle could
be removed by the police.

........ But parking in forbidden areas
or where it would endanger or obstruct other
road users is an offence, which could mean
you get a parking fine. You could also be
prosecuted, have your car towed away and
your badge withdrawn.

 

[renault12ts]

Think you missed the point - I was saying that with the signage for the single lines 150 yards up a steep hill, a blue badge holder couldn't be expected to consult the sign. There's no signage at the bottom. Unless Google Earth is wrong on that too. Read my post again, slowly this time.

Looking a bit further, the PCN is supposedly for "parking on a drop kerb". This suggests that he wasn't even parked fully in the former entrance but was at least partly on the drop kerb. As a wheelchair user, I can tell you that's particularly inconvenient. All in all, he had good parking options 10 yards away so I'm voting that the PCN was warranted. But it costs nowt to challenge it, which I'd do anyway. If the photo evidence they supply doesn't show him on either the upper or lower drop kerb then he's in the clear, because they can't retrospectively change their mind about what the offence was.

The road opposite being blocked off for work isn't a get out of jail card. The fact there was work makes it even more likely that large vehicles would want access. Parking well on the kerb/former entry negates this as an issue of course, but it's not an argument he could use in future in similar circumstances. The yellow lines exemption for badge holders isn't carte blanche - it has to be used considerately. If he's parked opposite a junction then by default he's too close to one - it's the same as the night parking rule that my old man got a ticket for about 40 years ago when we lived opposite a junction.

The street view is from July 2012, but I'm in Rotherham on Wednesday so will take a look to see if it has changed. Here's the wider view from Google - it looks like your chum picked the very worst place to park. Even if the single line is now double yellows, he would have been scott free if he'd just gone 10 yards further up the hill. I find it inconceivable that there was no parking on the other side of the road either.



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If a large vehicle turns into that street he will only be able to reverse out...so I don't buy that argument since this is an unlikely scenario. The PCN is clearly wrong.

 

[cinek]

I don't know where the one meter tolerance that some have mentioned in relation to obstructing the footpath comes into it??

Highways Act 1980

This doesnt apply to footways which are constructed with the width lesser than 1m.
The requirement covers residual width only.

And it is a footway, not a footpath

 

[meeeb]

Highways Act 1980

Section?

 

[cinek]

Section?

Why?

Not interested in proving anything to you to be honest...so take it or leave it.

 

[cinek]

Why?

Not interested in proving anything to you to be honest...so take it or leave it.

Then again...

Since you like quoting DfT guidelines, have a read through this one:

LTN 2/04 - Adjacent and Shared Use Facilities for Pedestrians and Cyclists (Section 6.2.5)

http://www.ukroads.org/webfiles/LTN...e Facilities for Pedestrians and Cyclists.pdf


Highways Act gives the power to the local authorities to create footways, footpaths and bridleways in part III of the regulation.
There are however, number of other legislation such structure must comply with, e.g. New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991 as well as The Equalities Act 2013.

The latter plays a crucial part in design as well as general maintenance of pedestrians routes.

See section 3.1
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...achment_data/file/3695/inclusive-mobility.pdf


If you expect to see any more information, contact me via pm and I will be more than happy to compile a full report for you regarding this matter.
Of course, at agreed fee.