In some parts of the world, green EV charging parking spots are becoming almost as familiar as the blue ones for disabled drivers (although ICE drivers tend not to show the same respect for the green as they do for the blue). But what about disabled EV drivers? A new car park in the Manchester suburb of Salford has installed dual electric charging/disabled bays, for the use of Blue Badge holders who are charging their EVs, and they would seem to be the first such parking spots in the UK, if not in the world.

The idea was proposed to parking operator NCP by Helen Dolphin, a co-founder of the People’s Parking accreditation. “I am only too aware of the increasing growth of electric vehicles and although I don’t have an electric vehicle myself, I knew that as a disabled person I would struggle to get out of my car in a standard sized bay. I therefore wanted to encourage car park operators to consider the needs of electric vehicle owners who are disabled.”

People’s Parking is an accreditation organization that aims to improve the parking experience by highlighting parking facilities that accommodate disabled people, parents, commuters, cyclists, motorcyclists and EV drivers. Accredited facilities must demonstrate that they have good signage and pedestrian routes, and are clean and well lit.

“At NCP we work very closely with Helen to understand the needs of our disabled customers and to try to make our sites the best we possibly can,” said Sean Fenney, NCP Head of Operations for Manchester. “We were pleased to be able to add our first dual electric charging bay for our disabled customers, as we expect that to be a very real need in the near future.”

Source: People’s Parking