JJ VAN RENSBURG writes:
With the festive season fast approaching, shopping malls are becoming more busy by the day and in the process people need parking.
However, a bone of contention, particularly during busy times, is how many selfish motorists think nothing of taking up parking spaces intended for disabled people, simply because such enabled people are too damned lazy to walk.
Many of those vehicles stealing space in disabled bays do not even have a sticker on the window, which in itself is considered non-compliant, as the law requires that disabled people must obtain a certificate from a medical practitioner to apply for a legal parking ticket issued by the traffic department here in Ekurhuleni and for which they have to pay.
This ticket must be placed on the dashboard of the vehicle in which the disabled person is travelling so that it is clearly visible when such a vehicle is legally parked in the correct bay.
Festival Mall undercover parking does have disabled parking bays as well as two bays for family parking but management has apparently not seen fit to appoint the security guards to check whether people are parking there illegally, in which case they should have the authority to tell the illegal parkers to go find parking elsewhere.
It would also facilitate matters and scare illegal parkers off if management made provision for cars parked illegally to be wheel-clamped and fined, say R300. to have the clamps removed.
Guaranteed, that will definitely make illegal parkers think twice before taking up spaces they are not allowed to do.
On behalf of the disabled people who cannot walk without difficulty, I am appealing to Festival Mall management to please consider taking steps, particularly with the coming festive season,against these selfish people who give not a fig for others.
Lee-Anne Leathley, marketing manager for Festival Mall, replies:Festival Mall is unique in the fact that we have a dedicated boomed off area to afford disabled persons to park, at Entrance 3 and Entrance 4.
Disabled parkers who produce valid disability stickers with the metropolitan serial number and stamp are issued with a parking remote to access this area at no cost. The sole responsibility of our security guards is to ensure the safety of our shoppers and the safe keeping of all vehicles.
We do not enforce wheel-clamping or fining and in extreme cases where an incident becomes out of hand, the metro police will assist us in alternative ways, such as the towing of vehicles.
Festival Mall has various security measures in place in an effort to provide a comfortable and safe shopping experience for customers.
