Ever wonder why those blue striped areas are beside handicapped parking spaces?
Maybe you never thought about it.
As I scrolled through my Facebook feed, I stopped when I read Joey Krycia’s post about how he was affected by someone who may not have been aware of the importance of keeping that area clear. Joey came out from shopping and found he was unable to enter his vehicle because another car had parked within that striped area. As you can see from the photo, that area needs to be clear so a wheelchair can be navigated onto the ramp allowing access to the vehicle. On this snowy night, Joey was stuck. Unable to get onto the entry ramp, he could not make entry into his vehicle. Some of the comments folks made suggested he call police, have the other vehicle towed, go back into the store and page the owner. But he used the time to contemplate what he would say when the driver returned to her car. Using these opportunities to educate others is important. Hopefully, she learned why the striped area matters.
How else might we learn from this? By sharing. I asked Joey if I could share his post on my Facebook and also within this e-newsletter. He graciously agreed. I think it’s important for us to start from a point of kindly showing people why these things matter. I want to believe it was a careless error in judgment that has now been corrected. Maybe the person will tell everyone she knows and fewer and fewer instances like this will occur. As of today, the number of “shares” on Joey’s Facebook post stands at 13,121! How many views? How many comments? It’s viral. People are seeing, reading and hopefully understanding the “why.”
Thanks for allowing me to share this, Joey. I know many will appreciate it and share it with others!
