Disabled Parking

[portlock seagull]

I like Libra-gull, you and I are going to get on famously! Lindfield by the Sea, we'll talk Friday too. FANS UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!

 

[portlock seagull]

Oops, been a long day so only just got online tonight and just read the club website. Need to digest this, it's something, probably not enough, but it's something. My new shirts arrived too so I'm in a better mood tonight. Lot still unanswered / needs proper explanation.

Brighton and Hove Albion | News | Latest News | Latest News | Amex Travel FAQs

 

[clapham_gull]

As a partial observer on this issue, that page doesn't seem to answer any of the questions and the party line appears to be "we are working on it".

I really hope they get this right because they've had enough time to work on it and I'm sure the club would admit they shouldn't be in this situation.

However, let's see what happens and if anyone from the club is reading this - please make these issues an absolute priority when increasing the stadium capacity.

I'd hate to see the disabled supporters shafted again.

 

[clippedgull]

I was told the wheelchair space will come with the ticket as well.

I also think it is a disgrace that they are charging for the spaces. I can see the arguement for not discounting disabled season tickets (not sure I agree with it, but I can see the case) but folk in wheelchairs have few or no other options but to use parking. It is very unfair.

I fully support the frustration shown by disabled fans at the clubs apparent lack of understanding of their needs. But I do not support a 'free' parking space, especially when those spaces are at a premium. You may cite low income as an argument, but low income is not exclusive to disabled people.

 

[shellsuit]

to be honest being charged to park in a disabled space is the least of my worries,i can sort of understand it from a commercial point of view,but what gets my goat is when we took the stadium tour we were quite emphatically assured there would be no extra charges for parking if taking a wheelchair area season ticket with a carer,there are too many people confirming this now for us disabled supporters to be simply making this up.....apart from that as i said being charged is the least of our worries,the club have failed to recognize that many in the disabled community are very anxious about issues such as parking and accessibility and it can be quite a worry,the club failing to send out the relevant forms until 24 hrs before the deadline to the group of people who would be the most concerned about parking is quite honestly ridiculous and at the very least a complete betrayal to a section of loyal supporters,no parking for us means no attendance.....what a great way to start a new era after 35 years watching the albion.

 

[clapham_gull]

I fully support the frustration shown by disabled fans at the clubs apparent lack of understanding of their needs. But I do not support a 'free' parking space, especially when those spaces are at a premium. You may cite low income as an argument, but low income is not exclusive to disabled people.

No, but what well be exclusive to a disabled person is the means by which they get to the stadium -irrespective of their income.

 

[shellsuit]

just a thought as well.....even though i have previously said i am not totally against paying for a space...i would hate to tell anyone at the club especially in marketing or PR how to do their job but 46 disabled spaces @£180 is about £8000 so would it have been that hard to find big name sponsors around the city so a little sign could be displayed by the disabled parking saying these spaces have been provided free by the following companies.........wouldnt have been too hard would it?....might have saved the club from a PR cock up....

 

[Lord Bracknell]

There is a curious contradiction in the answers to a couple of questions that the Club have now given:-

Is it fair to charge for a disabled parking space?
Yes, most privately owned car parks do. It would also be positive discrimination against other fans if we did not charge.

Are Senior Citizens' Concessionary Bus Passes valid on the park & ride buses?
Yes.


The Club sees it as unfair discrimination against other fans if parking is given to disabled supporters free of charge. Yet they don't see it as unfair discrimination, if the Club pays for senior citizens to travel free on P&R buses.

The point I am making may be obscure, but bear with me. I know how the Concessionary Bus Pass Scheme works. I run bus services that qualify for funding under the Scheme. I used to be responsible for administering the Concessionary Bus Pass Scheme in Brighton.

It is a condition of the Scheme that, for a bus service to qualify for Council funding under the Scheme it must be registered with the Traffic Commissioner as a local bus service. The Park & Ride buses are not registered. Therefore any use of Concessionary Bus Passes on them is not paid for by the Council. Free travel on P&R buses is therefore being funded by the Football Club. Nothing wrong with that, in principle - it benefits senior citizens, at the expense of other fans who don't enjoy the benefit.

But, curiously, this "discrimination against other fans" is rejected by the Club as wrong, when applied to disabled parking charges, where the beneficiaries would be disabled supporters.

 

[shellsuit]

does anyone know as i have never seen the figures and no one as far as i can see has mentioned it on here yet....... how many spaces are there inside the stadium for wheelchair users

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

does anyone know as i have never seen the figures and no one as far as i can see has mentioned it on here yet....... how many spaces are there inside the stadium for wheelchair users

156 I think but am waiting for B&HC Council to confirm this.

 

[shellsuit]

156.....seriously? excuse my french but you must be sh*tt*ng me..........so if all 156 stadium spaces were taken for the disabled community there are still only 46 parking spaces for 156 users..........did the same people that measured the north stand tv screen come up with the disabled parking figures

 

[shellsuit]

can someone please confirm what Alex, Alex Dawson oo! oo! has said..........mate i dont for one minute say you are talking porkies but you might be an andy naylor moron in disguise with figures like that............seriously if this is true that there are 156 wheelchair "seats" inside the stadium and only 46 parking spaces then this makes the club look .....well crumbs i can hardly bring myself to say it but a bunch of incompetent twats........seriously who is commercial manager of maths at the club?.......i do hope you are wrong Alex, Alex Dawson oo! oo! and my rant will not look silly

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

156.....seriously? excuse my french but you must be sh*tt*ng me..........so if all 156 stadium spaces were taken for the disabled community there are still only 46 parking spaces for 156 users..........did the same people that measured the north stand tv screen come up with the disabled parking figures

Not at all and if I'm wrong it's not deliberate; 156 is the figure recommended in BS8300 for a 22-23k capacity stadium and we counted about a hundred looking from the WSU last week (ie excludes any in the 1901W and hospitality boxes). The disabled community isn't just restricted to wheelchair users either - but it's a bit late for me to whitter on about this tonight.

 

[shellsuit]

thanks for clearing that up,i had a peek last week and was sure it wasnt near the 100 mark but if youve done a head count i believe you....still give or take 30 its still not adequate for the amount of spaces available.......oh and by the way i didnt mean to offend i am fully aware the disabled community is not restricted to wheelchair users but im sure you will agree it is mainly wheelchair users that are mostly concerned they will not be able to secure a disabled parking bay with the sufficient width to allow wheelchair access in and out of a car........i for one will go on record as saying i will take another parking space at the stadium as long as i can push a wheelchair to the ground from it and no one gives a toss if i hold up the traffic for ten minutes while i park in the main drag and get us sorted before squeezing the car in

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

thanks for clearing that up,i had a peek last week and was sure it wasnt near the 100 mark but if youve done a head count i believe you....still give or take 30 its still not adequate for the amount of spaces available.......oh and by the way i didnt mean to offend i am fully aware the disabled community is not restricted to wheelchair users but im sure you will agree it is mainly wheelchair users that are mostly concerned they will not be able to secure a disabled parking bay with the sufficient width to allow wheelchair access in and out of a car........i for one will go on record as saying i will take another parking space at the stadium as long as i can push a wheelchair to the ground from it and no one gives a toss if i hold up the traffic for ten minutes while i park in the main drag and get us sorted before squeezing the car in

No offence taken, I'm just a bit tired and tetchy from the effects of my anti-cancer chemo.

 

[shellsuit]

you probably could have said you were just tired but anyway im looking forward to the club verifying this 156 figure

 

[British Bulldog]

I fully support the frustration shown by disabled fans at the clubs apparent lack of understanding of their needs. But I do not support a 'free' parking space, especially when those spaces are at a premium. You may cite low income as an argument, but low income is not exclusive to disabled people.

I dont think anybody is claiming low income is exclusive to disabled people, The gripe is when we signed up for a season ticket we were told that a parking space at the ground for wheelchair users would be privided free of charge and I for one trusted the club on this. Now I find out with a couple of weeks to go before the first game that if I want that parking space it will cost me an extra £180, So where I thought my travel and parking plans were all sorted they've now been thrown into chaos because I've been lied to by the club. Personally I think if the club were planning on charging for these spaces then they should've been upfront about it in the first place and I also think they could've kept the charges down to a reasonable amount rather than the nearly £8 a game it works out to. On top of that if I did pay for a parking spot then to be able to use it I would have to get to the Amex at least 90 mins before kick off and would'nt be able to leave for at least an hour after the game finishes, I know an hour might not sound a long time but because I've got no choice but to sit in the front row of the north stand and being open to the elements by the end of the game ( if it's cold and wet ) i'm going to be aching like a beast and all i'm going to want to do is get home to get in the warm and dry so hanging around for another hour will seem a hell of a long time especially when you get charged that amount for the privalage.

 

[clippedgull]

I dont think anybody is claiming low income is exclusive to disabled people, The gripe is when we signed up for a season ticket we were told that a parking space at the ground for wheelchair users would be privided free of charge and I for one trusted the club on this. Now I find out with a couple of weeks to go before the first game that if I want that parking space it will cost me an extra £180, So where I thought my travel and parking plans were all sorted they've now been thrown into chaos because I've been lied to by the club. Personally I think if the club were planning on charging for these spaces then they should've been upfront about it in the first place and I also think they could've kept the charges down to a reasonable amount rather than the nearly £8 a game it works out to. On top of that if I did pay for a parking spot then to be able to use it I would have to get to the Amex at least 90 mins before kick off and would'nt be able to leave for at least an hour after the game finishes, I know an hour might not sound a long time but because I've got no choice but to sit in the front row of the north stand and being open to the elements by the end of the game ( if it's cold and wet ) i'm going to be aching like a beast and all i'm going to want to do is get home to get in the warm and dry so hanging around for another hour will seem a hell of a long time especially when you get charged that amount for the privalage.

I totally agree that the club have handled this situation poorly. I really hope that supporters with genuine needs are accommodated to their satisfaction. I wonder if the club could incorporate any parking charge into the monthly payments of the season ticket to ease the unexpected financial burden they have placed on disabled parking spots?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I fully support the frustration shown by disabled fans at the clubs apparent lack of understanding of their needs. But I do not support a 'free' parking space, especially when those spaces are at a premium. You may cite low income as an argument, but low income is not exclusive to disabled people.

Please re-read my posts. I am not citing low income. I am stating parking in some cases is a virtual necessity, a need. In such cases it should be free.

And read other posts, the father who carried his son into the south stand at Withdean, the guy who has lost out because he did not claim benefits to which he was and is entitled and the chap who voluntarily took the bus from Rottingdean to Falmer. These are proud people who just want a little bit of equality, not hand outs.

 

[Superphil]

I dont think anybody is claiming low income is exclusive to disabled people, The gripe is when we signed up for a season ticket we were told that a parking space at the ground for wheelchair users would be privided free of charge and I for one trusted the club on this. .

I’m not in any way belittling the issues here regarding disabled access to the Amex, however, it's not the only thing that has been reneged on since they sold tickets to fans. I think that perhaps they were not anticipating the tremendous response from supporters, disabled or not, for the purchase of season tickets. E.g. originally they expected to sell around 500-750 1901 seats, now there are 2500, there are a number of promises made to those buyers at the time of purchase that have been taken back.

Perhaps this is a case of over subscription across the board, the law of supply and demand comes into play, and everyone suffers in some way or another. If you make a statement saying the parking will be free, then realise you have way too many applicants for that parking space, then as a commercial enterprise, you make a commercial decision, there probably isn’t a business in the country that wouldn’t have done the same.