University of Sussex parking

[heavyweightsrbest]

I think the trip over from the University is too far for somebody in your position and it is not on flat ground. It would be dreadful in bad weather. I'm sure the club would be prepared to do something.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

There are several issues to be resolved and I hope the meeting with the Club will deal with them all. These include:-

- the number of spaces that are available to disabled supporters;
- their location;
- arrangements to get from the parking space to the ground (if the location isn't close enough);
- the criteria that are being used to prioritise supporters who have asked for a space;
- arrangements that can be offered to disabled supporters who are excluded by the criteria;
- pricing.

(to list just six).

And it's not just wheelchair users (or even Blue Badge holders) who need to be taken into account.

 

[Ken Newbury]

My view, for what it's worth, as an able-bodied person able to get around easily is that;
Disabled parking spaces should be available as close as possible to the ground
They shouldn't be at the University as it is too far away
Fit 1901 members, or indeed club staff members, should be moved to the university to allow room for moredisabled spaces
The spaces shouldn't be free but should be chargeable but possibly with a discount

However, one thought that no-one has yet mentioned when considering wanting disabled bays in Bennetts Field is that in three years time ALL those spaces will be removed and relocated elsewhere; what will happen then when "the club" has moved disabled spaces to say the Falmer Acadamy which is a fair distance away?

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Sounds like it needs to be handled on a case by case basis.

 

[Hunting 784561]

I think if they asked 1901 club members if any would voluntarily move to the Uni site they would get plenty of takers. That's where people thought the spaces would be anyway.

This. As a 1901er, this is entirely reasonable.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I would however say I'm not going to move voluntarily just because someone has a blue badge. Although it has apparently been tightened up, it has been abused for so long and there are so many snide ones it doesn't really work as mark of need.

A fair point and an issue which frustrates and annoys me. Lord Bracknell mentioned there is a study regarding abuse and fraudulent use of blue badges which mentions badges can change hands for up to a thousand pounds in London. Given the wide spread abuse, a blue badge is certainly not an indication of disability.

How the club can determine genuine need will need some thought.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

A fair point and an issue which frustrates and annoys me. Lord Bracknell mentioned there is a study regarding abuse and fraudulent use of blue badges which mentions badges can change hands for up to a thousand pounds in London. Given the wide spread abuse, a blue badge is certainly not an indication of disability.

How the club can determine genuine need will need some thought.

I also pointed out that abuse is on the decline - especially since Blue Badges started to have photographs of the holder.

http://www2.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/259428/281009/bluebadge.pdf

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I can't believe that there seem to be so many people ahead of those that dearly need to park right next door to the stadium. It is quite frankly embarrassing behaviour from the club.

I also believe that it is outlandish to charge so much for those that need a parking space to attend a football match, as opposed to those that will use a space as a convenience.

 

[Tummy Burger]

I have been offered a £180 disabled parking space at the UoS. I have multiple sclerosis and use an electric wheelchair. I can not walk at all, and need a hoist to get me from bed to chair, and have an electric tailgate to get me and my wheelchair into my adapted van. I bought a wheelchair season ticket, understanding that onsite parking would be available and free. The news then came that the parking would cost £180, but I really wanted to go to the football so I managed to find the money. Now I am told that the space won't be on site but over the other side of a railway line and a dual carriageway. Customer services at the ground told me that it is a few minutes walk away & I should be grateful that I have been offered a space at all. This has taken all the joy out of promotion to the Championship for me as I obviously will not be able to use such an inaccessible parking space which will mean that the season ticket will be useless. Silly me to think that the building of a state of the art stadium would give me some sense of normality back in my life and let me support the team that I have supported since the 70's.....2 Wembley cup finals, one
playoff final, standing on the East Terrace at the Goldstone for years and going to Withdean and too many away games for me to mention, before I developed MS. Oh well back to Radio Sussex commentary on a Saturday afternoon. That's the ironic thing, having been treated so badly by the club I am and will always be a Seagull. I suppose that's how they get away with it

None of this has anything to do with me.... by that I mean I do not require parking and I do not have a disability. Having listened to some quite angry people on this issue recently, it certainly needs addressing. Your situation sounds terrible, and if it was up to me I would park you right outside the doors to the stadium. I have no ideas on the number fans we are talking about with similar parking issues ?. Would it be too much work for the club to deal with this on a case by case basis ?....ie) People who really do require it, can have it. What I mean by that is, I would imagine some Blue badge holders may not neccasarily be in such a need to be right at the doors. ( Please correct any of this, if I am totally wrong, I truly am not speaking from a knowledgable position on this subject ).
If anyone can give some precise figures ?

How many spaces available to you in car park next to North stand ?
How many up the top behind the east ?.
How many the other side of the railway ?.
How many people are looking for a disabled space ?.

Good luck with it all.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

If anyone can give some precise figures ?

How many spaces available to you in car park next to North stand ?
How many up the top behind the east ?.
How many the other side of the railway ?.
How many people are looking for a disabled space ?.

On Tuesday, Martin Perry gave the figure of 70 disabled parking spaces available in total. Before Tuesday, the figure was 46. Back in January, it was 120. The precise location of all of them hasn't been announced. Some are certainly on the Sussex University site, the other side of the A27.

We don't know how many people have applied for disabled parking places. But there have certainly been wheelchair users who have not been allocated a space.

The total number of supporters who experience a severe walking difficulty, in a crowd of 22,500 with an average demographic profile, is likely to be approaching 500.

 

[Tummy Burger]

I would imagine the club have to make a call between those in wheelchairs and those who have a walking difficulty. Does anyone know how many actual wheelchair spaces there are at the Amex ?. I would imagine all of those need a space to start with, then work from there.

 

[British Bulldog]

Does anyone know how many actual wheelchair spaces there are at the Amex ?. I would imagine all of those need a space to start with, then work from there.

Thats the exact point I tried to get across to the chap I spoke to on the helpline the other day but he just was'nt interested, So like a lot of other disabled fans i'm now left with nowhere to park and a season ticket i'm probably not going to be able to use.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I would imagine the club have to make a call between those in wheelchairs and those who have a walking difficulty. Does anyone know how many actual wheelchair spaces there are at the Amex ?. I would imagine all of those need a space to start with, then work from there.

I think it's 145. I have the correct figure in an email from Martin Perry buried somewhere in my inbox.

 

[cjd]

Cor...what a dilemna for 'disabled' supporters....and the club.

Like other posters on this thread, I think it needs to be sorted on an individual basis. But who would decide whose needs exceed anothers...?

Only solution, as I see it, is for all 'blue-badge' holders etc to have their own forum, group etc.....and elect their own representatives to decide whose need is greater. A bit late in the day for this of course...but a longer term solution...?

One thing is certain...not everyone will be happy......but better that the people it effects most...make the decisions themselves.

 

[Lush]

I wonder how much of the problem goes back to the much wider issue of abuse of blue badges? There may have been people who have 'access' to one and saw that the club was offering free parking and thought that would do very nicely on a match day. Charging will maybe have weeded some of those out and hopefully left a few more spaces for those in real need.

A simple question along the lines of "disabled spaces are limited. Would you be able to manage a space across the road at the University?" To everyone being offered a parking space - including 1901-ers and people with disabilities, I am sure would have been helpful. Some people can walk but only very very short distances. Others can get into motorised wheelchairs and may be able to manage further - but perhaps giving people the option to be decent and reasonable.

Isn't the whole stadium meant to be about that anyway - rather than telling people what they can and can't have. Giving people the opportunity to be respectful of others - eg how we are treating away fans.

That said, I still think that if you can manage a bus, the Mithras House 'door to door' Park and Ride could be an easier, cheaper and faster option than the car park.

 

[ROSM]

I think this thread highlights some real positives about NSC. there has been;

- a well constructed explanation of problem,
- some good suggestions being offered and practical help from those who know things in this subject area,
- some genuine offers to give up their own right next door spaces' by some 1901 members and
- offers to physically help the individual

Well done all who took the time to post on here. You are a credit to your club.

Having looked at Bennets Field on saturday, it looks a temporary car park as hasn't been properly levelled as a permanent one would be (it still has the contours of the land) so the location of disabled spaces woul be key as some may be worse than what is on offer at the uni. I think it will need to be assessed on the individual and I hope that progress could be made on the option of using disabled friendly transport from an existing or perhaps a special park and ride site.

 

[British Bulldog]

I wonder how much of the problem goes back to the much wider issue of abuse of blue badges? There may have been people who have 'access' to one and saw that the club was offering free parking and thought that would do very nicely on a match day. Charging will maybe have weeded some of those out and hopefully left a few more spaces for those in real need.

I dare say the blue badge system was abused at Withdean but to qualify for disabled parking at the Amex you had to provide photocopy evidence of your disability living allowance. The problems are purely down to there not being enough disabled parking spots at the Amex and the amount they want to charge for those that are there and the fact it was sprung on people at the last minute after being told it was going to be free parking when we signed up for our season tickets.

 

[Superphil]

I would imagine the club have to make a call between those in wheelchairs and those who have a walking difficulty. Does anyone know how many actual wheelchair spaces there are at the Amex ?. I would imagine all of those need a space to start with, then work from there.

Judging by Saturday, far more than are required, more seemed empty than used on Saturday. East Stand North End were virtually all empty, West Stand North end had empty seats, The North Stand wasn't full, the big corner between West and South was not full, and niether was the one between East and South, there were none in the Spurs End and I only saw 2 or maybe 3 in the WSM 1901. This is based on what I remember seeing, if my numbers are slightly out I apoligise, but the seats were in no way all in use, far from it. Of course, this is just the wheelchair designated spaces, not the number of disabled supporters who were there sitting in the stands.

HT says that all the disabled parking bays in Bennets fields were used, I thought not, but am prepared to be corrected on that. Regarding the parking, and as has been asked many times, without an answer, how many are required? How many have been applied for and bought? And indeed, how many people are not able to get a space? With some firm statistics, we have an opportunity to level this at the club, as a group of concerned fans, we can demand they make the parking spaces free, or massively cheaper than £180 (the price of a travel voucher perhaps?), we can demand that all the parking spaces are on the stadium side of the railway, move 1901/staff parking spaces in to the spaces in the University car parks that have been allocated for disabled parking. This is a club that does listen to the fans, OK, they haven't been at all good on this subject, but we all know they do listen, they have in so many aspects regarding our wonderful new stadium. Get the statistics (the Facts if you like) and then get us all behind you in a demonstration that proves this is not something they can push under the carpet.

 

[francois123]

Disabled Parking.

Great sympathy from one who is close to being in a wheelchair.I qualify for a disabled badge but won't apply yet as I can walk enough to get me from the Uni etc and paid full price for a Uni space.

The misuse of Blue Badges is having a detrimental effect on genuine people like you.

How many of those who get the stadium spaces will march (or even run if they're late) into the stadium as they do at supermarkets etc?

If the club could sort out the genuine WHEELCHAIR bound like yourself perhaps by interview or Doctors letter then places at the ground itself SHOULDand MUST be made available.

Don't give up as it is a wonderful club and hopefully decency will prevail.

Come on Messrs Bloom,Perry,Brown Night etc having done such a fantastic job let's finish it off to perfection.

Move some of the 1901 and judging by Saturday some of them could do with the exercise as well !!!

 

[Superphil]

Great sympathy from one who is close to being in a wheelchair.I qualify for a disabled badge but won't apply yet as I can walk enough to get me from the Uni etc and paid full price for a Uni space.

The misuse of Blue Badges is having a detrimental effect on genuine people like you.

How many of those who get the stadium spaces will march (or even run if they're late) into the stadium as they do at supermarkets etc?

If the club could sort out the genuine WHEELCHAIR bound like yourself perhaps by interview or Doctors letter then places at the ground itself SHOULDand MUST be made available.

Don't give up as it is a wonderful club and hopefully decency will prevail.

Come on Messrs Bloom,Perry,Brown Night etc having done such a fantastic job let's finish it off to perfection.

Move some of the 1901 and judging by Saturday some of them could do with the exercise as well !!!

I'm sure you'll get plenty of support from 1901 members on this, several on here have said so, me included, however, snide comments could piss some off.