Worthing mum left baffled by ‘pointless’ disabled parking bay
A Worthing mum has described a ‘tiny’ disabled parking bay installed outside her home as ‘pointless’.
Selina Ragless, of Radnor Close, requested the bay for her 12-year-old son, Harry, who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair.
Without a driveway or garage, Selina said she often struggled to find a parking space close to her home.
She said: “I have to park a couple of streets away sometimes, which isn’t very good when Harry’s in the wheelchair, especially if it’s raining.
“So I applied for a disabled parking bay to be installed out the front.”
Selina said the new bay was installed in the cul-de-sac last week – but it was not suitable.
“If another car parks next to me, as it is at the moment, I won’t be able to get out of my driver’s side door,” she added. “It’s tiny. We’re not going to be able to use it as it’s intended. It’s nowhere near what the legal disabled bay limit is meant to be – it’s half of that.”
Selina said reversing into the space wouldn’t solve the problem because of a lamppost positioned behind it.
“It’s a pointless disabled bay,” she added.
Selina believes the space was painted around a parked car belonging to a neighbour who was on holiday.
She said: “Instead of waiting for them to return and move the car so they could paint the bay properly, they just went ahead and, I’m assuming, painted around the car.”
Selina has now filed a complaint with West Sussex County Council and said she hoped the authority would ‘come back and rectify it at some point’.
A county council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the concerns that have been raised regarding the disabled parking bay installed in Radnor Close on 1 September and are taking urgent action to review the bay dimensions, the road markings and the overall suitability of the installation.
“We will contact the resident directly to discuss the issues raised and work with them to identify an appropriate solution.”