Dusgusted over disabled parking

Sir, – I am writing in relation to the disabled parking spaces in Elgin. First I would like to express how disgusted I am at the people who approved the changes!

As a carer to my mother, who has numerous disabilities, this has left us both outraged. My mum’s mobility has been left suffering even more walking from ‘space to shop’. Yes, there might be more spaces, as the council put it, but what use are these spaces to people when they are further away from the actual town?

Not only are they further away from the shops (as the ones outside Poundland are usually taken), but they are on hills and slight slopes. What use is this to others that have the same problem as my mum with walking up hills?

Due to my mum’s medical condition she has two main issues with the changes. Firstly, she is suffering more unnecessary pain and discomfort, and secondly, being partially-sighted she has no confidence on opening her door wide in case she bangs the door into a pedestrian walking by, or even a pram for that matter.

Due to other problems and her feelings of being further away from shops she tends to opt out from shopping in the town, and she is now beginning to feel penalised for being disabled, and I’m sure she is not the only one to think this.

As a carer I think this is awful. To me there seemed to be no problem before, and as for the ‘near misses’, some people should look where they are going and not walk right in front of or behind moving cars.

I used to be able to park in the town knowing that my mum could look around the shops and have the car close by so when she was sore and needing a sit down she could – now this is not the case.

Quite frankly it is heartbreaking to see your own mother in such pain that could be avoided.

I think the council should be ashamed of themselves and stop to think how they would feel if it was their mother struggling, would they have made the changes then? – Yours etc,

Donna Main

Burghead.

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