Councillor ‘brought to tears’ by reports of disabled people struggling to park outside their own homes
Councillor Martin Christopher has called on highways bosses to urgently review its disabled parking provision in Lincoln
A councillor says he’s been ‘brought to tears’ by reports of some disabled people struggling to park outside their own homes.
Councillor Martin Christopher (Liberal Democrats – St Giles) has called on highways bosses to urgently review its disabled parking provision in Lincoln following reports of some disabled residents struggling to park outside their properties.
He told members of Lincolnshire County Council’s (LCC) highways and transport scrutiny committee that he has been asking for a policy to address this issue for more than two years – but such a policy has yet to be adopted.
Coun Christopher told a meeting on Monday (September 14) that one resident has told him that his wife is unlikely to be around to see the impact of a new policy.
He said: “For nearly three years now, he’s been waiting for something along these lines so that he can park closer to his property on a residential street where it’s very difficult to get outside the front of his home.
“I was brought to tears when he told me that he realises now that despite the two years he’s been pushing for this, the likelihood is that his wife won’t be here when this actually happens, or if this happens in the future. That was a really sobering moment for me.”
Coun Christopher said another resident has told him she has a brain injury and is unable to park close enough to her house.
He added: “We’re being told at the moment by national Government that we’re actually helping people to charge their cars more efficiently or for less money, but if you can’t charge it at home, what are you left?
“This is a huge number of disabled residents that have got mobility cars that are electric only.
“If they live in an area where they can’t get close enough to their home to charge it, they are paying an extreme premium for charging that at the local supermarkets or other areas.”
Coun Christopher said he was ‘disappointed’ the policy had been ‘pushed back’ and has called on the proposal to be discussed as soon as possible.
After the meeting, Coun Christopher told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the lack of disabled parking in Lincoln was negatively affecting many disabled residents.
He said: “It’s really something that needs to be discussed because certainly in areas like Monks Road there’s a lot of people with mobility issues and that means that that community there, certainly from my perspective – which is an area which I represent in the city – are heavily impacted by the current situation.
“Some residents are having to park two or three streets away from their home. But equally if you can’t get enough space when you’re getting your wheelchair out of your car to get then that’s an even bigger problem. They’re having to rely heavily on others for support.”
After the meeting, Shaun Butcher, head of highways asset at LCC, said: “The proposed disabled parking policy is one of several traffic-related policies currently being developed and reviewed by the council.
“While it was initially planned to be considered by the highways and transport scrutiny committee in September, this has been moved to November to allow more time to fully assess the potential impacts and ensure these are properly addressed as the policy is developed.
“We recognise the importance of this issue for residents and are committed to developing a policy that is practical, fair and effective, while progressing it through the appropriate decision-making process.”