I have been meaning to write this letter for some time; my pet peeve is individuals and you know who you are, that park in handicapped spaces when clearly you are not handicapped in any way. In other words, someone that is inappropriately parked out of convenience and pure selfishness on their part thus prevents disabled individuals from parking close to stores.
Through the course of my day I see drivers and passengers who were either walking to or walking away from cars with handicapped parking passes hanging from their rear-view mirrors or on their dashboard. Every single one of them seemed spry, with no limping or crutches or wheelchairs or awkwardness in the way that they walked. It just seemed odd to me as to why seemingly able-bodied people were parking in spots designated for truly handicapped people. One has to wonder if a person in a wheelchair or on crutches drove up and had to park further away, would any of these other folks feel bad for taking the closer spaces. I would surmise that those type of people who abuse handicap parking just do not care at all about how hard it may be for someone in a wheelchair, walker, or amputee to get where they need to go easier.
Why do people feel it's acceptable to use the disabled placard that belongs to a relative if they are not along for the ride? Why do people use handicapped stickers of relatives that are no longer physically able to travel, or worse, have passed away? Shame on all of you who abuse this parking privilege.
I am asking all these abusers if they are not disabled, please leave the space available next time so that a person in a wheelchair, walker, or amputee, can utilize the space in the manner it was intended: not to get you closer to your destination, but to allow the disabled to park closer to their destination so they can have enough space to open the car door so a wheelchair can be placed next to the seat, so they can easily leave and return to their vehicle.
Kevin Smith
Prince George
