15 replies to this topic

[rkzenrage]

Does anyone else’s Wal-Mart, or local box store, disabled parking with loading, look like this?
I am doing a You Tube video on this, and probably sending it to the ADA as well.
I’m calling this store manager on Monday and asking if they will let me record a “talk about parking for a project� and work into asking them about how they store their shopping carts and why.
There is no reason they don’t store them on the inside of the sidewalk instead of merchandise.






Not to mention those parking in the loading zones without ramps or lifts…

& the ever-present non-disabled resident…


This was just today, us randomly showing-up, but it is normally like this at the busiest of times. When it is slow and they have a surplus of carts, there are NO spots for those with lifts/ramps.

[Tim13]

That's freakin' nasty! don't know what i find worse, the douche who is parking between the spaces or the carts sitting there.
Over in this neck of the woods the police say just call 911 and they'll send an officer and his trusty ticket book.

wonder if they'd ticket each cart individually? lol.

[Texaswheelz]

happens every where i go also. Every wal-Mart i have been to has been about the same. I stopped at one the other night(1:00 AM) and every handicap spot was full and not one person had a placard, which is normal, but the worse part is that this Wal-Mart is in a more wealthy part of town so they have 24 hour parking security that drive around in their little cart. He was sitting right at the front talking to people the whole time i was there, Watched 3 non handicap come and go and never said a word. I pulled up and asked him if he could help me to find a handicap parking spot since they were all taken by non placard bearing car and he just told me I would have to wait or park in a non handicap spot and then went back to talking.

[KarenFerguson]

Ah, another reason why I never shop at walmart. That's horrible. I had a very similar idea yesterday while driving around of snapping pictures of "disabled" people in the handicapped spots. We need to change the law here. There needs to be parking spaces with out hatch marks for those with breathing problems or whatever and parking spots with hatch marks for those of us with chairs and ramps. Something needs to be done!

[rkzenrage]

I called the cops and am going to talk to them about it. They said they will "call me back"
The store manager is never "there" when I am there or when I call.
I really wanted to tape the call and use it in a YT video about this.
That they have the entire inside of the front sidewalk full of merchandise instead of using it for this purpose and/or more corrals disgusts me.

I have a theory about parking enforcement and big box stores in small towns.
The town uses taxes to enforce parking Nazi-style downtown to run everyone to the big box stores who have lobbied, under the table, for this treatment.
It makes no financial sense, if they took that one parking attendant and patrolled the whole town for more serious parking offenses they would make in one day what they make in a month for the petty parking tickets running business away from the few mom & pop stores left down-town that are actually supposed to have people in them for long periods of time.
Especially in illegal disabled parking tickets alone.

[wheeliebear75]

Hey guys did you know that when disabled is unavailable we have the right to double-park(use 2 regular spots). Park just crooked enough so as to make both spaces with too little of a space to use by another vehicle. If & when a ticket is written you simply go into court with any and all evidence you can get showing that you had no alternative do to the inconsideration of others. If anybody feels like blocking in a non disabled vehicle with your own vehicle & wait for the police they will eventually get around to it........but be prepared to listen to some tunes for a while and possibly have an irate A**hole pound your car with their fists.......on the plus side though that sure does hurry the cops up.

[rkzenrage]

Here is my problem with that... it is dangerous IMO to drive a wheelchair with a 4-year-old through a parking lot.
SUVs, Vans, Trucks and idiots cannot see you behind them as they back out.
You may as well roll in the street at night with a black sheet over you.

[Cheshire]

I'm with you, Karen. I've been boycotting WalMart for years. I used to work there about 10 years ago as a day-shift stock man. People were constantly trying to run us over because we were an "inconvenience and in the way", and the store managers wouldn't believe us (even with surveillance footage proving it) until one of the employees got his foot run over and broken. (*edit* Day shift stockpeople are responsible for getting the carts out of the parking lot, and all the other grunt work no one else wants to do.)
The place is utter insanity.

Rkzenrage: ask them when the manager will be there: from what I know, store manager's supposed to be there regularly and it sounds like they're trying to play "ignore it and it'll go away" with you. If they won't give you a straight answer, smile and ask for the district manager's number AND the contact info for who's above district. That usually makes them nervous. Keep it up with those pictures...the evidence will most likely be needed to make them even acknowledge that they have a problem.
*edit* Come to think of it, a grassroots-style approach is to try talking to a stockperson and (nicely) explaining why those areas need to be kept cleared. If they're worth their salt, they'll be the best ones to talk to. If they don't care...well, show no mercy!

Edited by Cheshire, 22 October 2007 - 10:40 AM.

[rkzenrage]

Thanks, but I've decided to let the cops and ADA deal with it from now on.
I will call today, one last time, then I am done with them.

[rkzenrage]

http://www.9news.com...x?storyid=79337
2nd Investigation of Federal Judge Nottingham Launched after Disabled Parking Violation

Quote

KUSA - The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has launched a second investigation of Judge Edward Nottingham, the Chief Judge of federal courts in Colorado.

Nottingham is the judge in the Joe Nacchio trial. Nacchio was the former CEO of Qwest.

The Court of Appeals began an investigation of Judge Nottingham in September following allegations of improper conduct involving strip clubs.

The most recent investigation began less than a month after the first investigation. It involves a grievance filed by a Denver attorney over Judge Nottingham's behavior after parking illegally in a disabled parking space.

The attorney who filed the grievance, Jeanne Elliott, was paralyzed in 1986 after being shot four times during a court hearing in the Arapahoe County Courthouse.

Elliott was representing the ex-wife of an Aurora police officer who shot Elliott because he was angry about an increase in his court-ordered child-support payments.

On September 15, Elliott says she was in her wheelchair on her way into a Walgreen's at Race and Colfax in Denver. She says she had to park on the street in her wheelchair-accessible van because all of the disabled parking spaces were taken. Elliott says she noticed one of the handicapped spaces was occupied by someone without the proper authentication for disabled parking. So, she pulled her wheelchair behind the SUV and waited for the owner to show up.

According to Elliott, the man who owned the SUV saw her behind his van, walked past her and got in his SUV without speaking with her.

"And then he put the car in reverse, because I could tell from back-up lights going on and I thought, 'Oh boy, he's going to back over me,'" said Elliott.

She says the driver actually backed up towards her while she was sitting in her wheelchair behind his SUV. According to Elliott, the driver then got out of car and said, "Get of my way.'" Elliot, who filed a grievance with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, then says she told the driver he was parked illegally in a handicapped accessible parking space. That's when Elliot says the driver identified himself as Judge Edward Nottingham and showed her his identification. Elliot says Nottingham threatened to call the U.S. Marshal's office if she didn't move.

"I was offended about the U.S. Marshal threat," said Elliott. "Here he is parking illegally. He's a federal judge who is held to a higher ethical standard and he's threatening me."

Elliott didn't move. Judge Nottingham called 911. ~snip~

There is more in the linked-article.

[wheeliebear75]

And those in politics wonder why it is that the people have such distrust in them. Never trust politicians and lawyers(judges were layers at one time).

[rkzenrage]

Got in touch with the manager today, he would not talk for my YT video.
He denied knowing it occurred at all, then denied it happened every day (my wife drives past the store daily), then blamed it on construction.... they have been doing it since the store has been built and I have seen it at more than one store
Four days since the police operator told me someone would call me back.

Edited by rkzenrage, 24 October 2007 - 01:12 AM.

[rkzenrage]

PM me if you want to see the YouTube video I made on this topic.

[dave420atya]

Where I live( out in the country) the small town thats near by( 20 miles) has one convenience store. They do have a small , almost to steep ramp but it has an ice machine in front of it so I can't get in without asking for help . There is usually a big 4x4 truck in the only handicap space. there's not many of us that "live" in our chair around here so it seems no one cares about the laws. I think I will make them aware of my existance. Thanks for inspiring me to do something , rkzenrage.

[edlee]

Maybe it's just the area I in which I live, but I don't see very much abuse of handicap spots by other than those with placards.

I do, however, see an awful lot of cars with placards and/or plates. It seems that the bigger problem is the ease with which these things are given out.

As for Walmart, I have often found it difficult to find a spot, but have only once seen one filled by a vehicle without a placard/plate.

The three nearest me, ( Walmarts) have plenty of space dedicated to cart storage, and have at least one person rounding up strays when ever I've been there.

I try to be fair and impartial when speaking of any buisness, big or small, and as such I must say that they have been among the most easily accessable I have found. ( No, I don't own stock)

I do know the feeling of trepidation you speak of, when rolling behind those large vehicles, but, so far , the only one that I had to pound on the back of to avoid chewing chrome , was a caddy driven by an older lady with a handicap plate. She was quite offended, too.
ed

[miss heather]

infuriating! I think Gabe has resigned himself to the fact that people (and companies) are inconsiderate a**holes, and keeps it cool... but it makes me so mad!
If I wasn't such a p***y I would've keyed several cars by now.