A MUM wants an extra disabled parking bay to be created in Lansdown, Stroud, so her six-year-old son can still go to the library.
Eloise Cole-Newton takes her son Raphael, who has cerebral palsy, to the library each week using a wheelchair buggy.
The buggy is twice as heavy as a standard pushchair and requires a ramp for Eloise to get it out of her car, a Peugeot Partner Tepee.
Eloise with son Raphael on one of the rare occasions they managed to park in a disabled bay in Lansdown, Stroud
But since the repaving of the High Street began on March 21, construction workers have been based in Lansdown, taking up three disabled parking bays and leaving only one free.
Consequently Eloise is rarely able to park near the library to take Raphael to his weekly book club.
She says parking elsewhere is not an option because she struggles with the weight of the buggy.
“If I want to go shopping at the bottom of Stroud I have to park towards the bottom of town because I can’t manage the wheelchair buggy up and down the High Street, and if I need to shop at the top of town I need to go to a car park further up the street,” said Eloise, who is Raphael’s full-time carer.
“His pushchair is just too heavy for me to manage the slope. Because the other disabled spaces are taken up in Lansdown you can’t always get parking.
“Sometimes I think I am not going to bother because of the disappointment on his face when I say we can’t park. I have to think twice about coming in.
"Ideally we need another bay opened up for disabled parking, just temporarily while the work continues.”
Scott Tompkins, lead commissioner for highways at Gloucestershire County Council, which is responsible for the repaving, said: “In Stroud, some parking bays and blue badge bays have been used in close proximity of the works area. This is necessary due to a legal duty of care to the workforce and to allow us to efficiently work on the site.”
The repaving of the High Street is due to be completed at the end of this month. GCC has advised disabled badge holders to park in Bedford Street, Fawkes Place, George Street, John Street, Union Street and Threadneedle Street.
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