A mum is calling for change after being fined £100 in a parking space struggle. Kelly Kitchen says many parking spaces are too small for getting children in and out of the vehicle – including those specially designed as parent and child spaces.
The 36-year-old told how she had gone to Teesside Park in Thornaby but was unable to park her car in a way that would allow her to safely remove her newborn twins and get them in their double pushchair. And when she returned to her car after an hour of shopping to find the penalty notice for slightly crossing into the next bay.
The new mum explained that there were no parent and child parking bays available, and she needed to fully open both rear car doors to get her boys out of their car seats, which then fit onto the buggy frame. Despite appealing the decision and explaining her situation, her appeal was rejected.
She noted that a similar incident in a Durham car park had led to the fine being waived after she explained the situation. However her appeal for the Teesside park incident was rejected.
The personal assistant, currently on maternity leave, was visiting the retail outlet on December 5 with her now 12-week-old sons, Jesse and Joey, when she received the fine. She said:”It was absolutely packed and there were no parent and child spaces available,” reports Teesside Live.
Jesse and Joey Kitchen cause their mum double trouble when it comes to parking at Teesside Park
(Image: UGC)
She said she was left having to park slightly over the line into an empty space next to her to get the car seats out of both sides of her Toyota RAV4. The single mum from Stainton has contacted both Teesside Park management and enforcement company Minster Baywatch several times, but has been told the fine stands.
She added: “No-one seems to be interested. No-one wants to help me, I feel like I am just going round in circles.”
Kelly says there are insufficient parent and child parking spaces at Teesside Park, and says the existing ones are not wide enough to comfortably get children out of both sides of the car. She said: “I can’t possibly be the only person who has this problem.
“It is not just Teesside Park, its the same everywhere. The car seats are really bulky so I need to open the doors fully wide to get them out. I never gave it a thought before I had children, but now I just don’t know how other people do it.”
It happened at Teesside Park
(Image: Evening Gazette)
A spokesperson for Teesside Park responded by saying: “Our car park is managed by Minster Baywatch, the policies and systems in place are designed to ensure that there are always spaces available for those who need them. For those visiting with small children, we have dedicated parent and child spaces across the car park, and also time restrictions in place in the Retail South car park to ensure as many spaces are available as possible.”