Dear Editor,
I am full time in a wheelchair, and have a wheelchair adapted van.
Following the snow last week, I found that a couple of malls that I went to in Richmond had plowed the snow into only the disabled parking spots. I have heard from others since that many other lots (public and private) in Richmond did the same.
And it was clearly a matter of choice. They could just as easily have chosen to pile the snow on one of the scores, even hundreds, of other spots rather than in the very limited number of disabled spots.
And the barrier continues beyond just the days of actual snowfall. The piled snow can take days, or longer, to melt, continuing to block the disabled spots long after the snow is gone elsewhere.
Having designated disabled spots is just a charade if they are actually made to be non-accessible.
Are those parking lot owners or managers stupid, insensitive or just hoping that the disabled will stay away?
Hopefully this letter can be a wakeup call!
Ian MacLeod
RICHMOND
