can someone tell me........

[TeamCheap]

Why there are so many handicapped parking spots at homedepot / lowes ???

OK I can see having a few but lowes has a bank of 16 spots set aside in just one aisle with more off to the side in the next aisle.

I can see the need for some handicapped spaces but I have never seen a handicapped person loading up 3/4" plywood sheets and a stack of lumber and other stuff for the weekend project.(yeah yeah I know there are other products in the store)

My mom is handicapped so I know the importance of having the spaces set aside but at a home improvement store it just seems like a bit of overkill but at the supermarkets your lucky to find a handicapped spot, THEY NEED MORE THERE ALONG WITH FUNCTIONING CARTS.
(I take my mom shopping as much as possible)


OK the rant is over and you probably guessed I just came back from lowes.

[phil]

i have thought the same thing so here is the only thing i could reason. so many able bodies are on the draw and working for cash doing odd jobs these places have got complaints because its not fair to make them walk so far to the store since the have handicapped tags 8O
here's another one for you, why do people take a motorcycle to sams club. i have rode my bike to lowes for a box of screws, but if your buying in bulk like at sams :?:

[lego1970]

Bike to Sams, that is pretty funny, LOL.

A year and a half ago when I broke my leg and it gave me a greater appreciation for those that really are handicapped. I've broken arms, had knees and my back go out, etc, etc but this was the first time that I couldn't walk at all and my hands were constantly tied up with having to use the crutches. The first week was hell since I'm allergic to morphine and so they gave me some pain patches that barely worked so everytime I got up to use the bathroom or whatever I could feel the bones grinding around. Cramping inside the cast was another problem but luckily they were mild cramps. After a week of hell and one particuliarly bad night I got a ride to the emergency room to see if they could give me something else. They did and from there on out the pain was in check and by the third week I was able to reduce my pain meds in half and I think I got off them completely in about 5 weeks. I'll be honest, those pills are a lot of fun and I can see how people can get hooked to those. No one to mow the grass, luckily after a few weeks I was able to load up on the pills right before going out and use my crutch to operate the clutch and brake peddle. Driving the truck was ok since it's an automatic. Taking a shower was pretty difficult but I always felt better afterwards. A lot of simple task like laundry and cooking was very hard to do, since I didn't have hands to carry the ingrediants to the stove or the plate to the table, etc, etc but I found ways to adapt. I would fix my food, then put it all in those little rubbermaid containers, that way I wouldn't spill anything when I went to the table. Going to the store was hard since I couldn't push a cart. I would take my backpack and put things in it as I went along the isle. I tried useing the electric carts but half the time the lazy people wouldn't plug them in when they were done useing it so they were seldom charged. I will say that when my six year old son would come to my house every other week, (custody times) he was a real trooper and helped out a lot or at least tried the best he could to help. I didn't have a handicap sticker and didn't apply for one since there were alot of other people out there that needed them way more then I did, but yea, it would really chap my you know what when I see people park in the handicap then walk out like they are fine, yet I hobbling around with my crutches in the rain so others that really need the parking spots could use them. I still can't squat fully on my left leg but otherwise can do everthing I used to be able to do and as time goes on, the experience fades away, however I still notice it when somebody with a handicap sticker walks out of ther vehicle like everybody else.

The good thing that came out of the accident was that while I was laid up in bed the first couple weeks I came across this website.

[Cal25]

I have thought the same thing about the parking spaces at the lumber yards also.

I ride my motorcycle t Lowes all the time. Lots of people will comment about it being a great day for a bike ride. I usually respond " Yeah, I'll have to remember that while I'm taking that sheet of plywood home".

[culcune]

My complaint with handicapped parking is who uses the spaces/placard. Years ago, one had to have an actual plate, but now people are issued placards, and many don't seem to actually need a handicapped space, but take one anyway. Yes, I know people who use someone's car (i.e., their mother's car) and park in handicapped spaces! Too much potential for abuse!! :?

[Reveeen]

My history:
Blew my back out about 10 years ago. It took the WCB 3 years to figure out I wasn't faking it. I got "fixed", fusion, bone grafts, and nerve repair. "Fixed" means: not lifting over 20lbs, no pushing, no pulling. Unless employed as a shower attendant at a girl's boarding school there is not a whole lot a fellow can do with these medical limitations (so I choose to ignore them, I am just careful).

I have a "gimp" placard (and being a "gimp" I feel I have the right to say that). My doctor had to sign for it. I have good days, and bad days, there is no telling until I get up in the morning. I am not noticeably handicapped, I may have no feeling in my right leg, I may fall over, but to look you won't see anything (unless I have fallen over). In a store you will see me hanging off of a shopping cart (either because I have to, or just in case).

Yes, there are folks worse off them me, and my heart goes out to them.

[culcune]

Reveen, you should have a plate issued. Like I said, there are people I know who use a relative's car and park in the handicap spaces, hence the abuse!

[TeamCheap]

My mom has the placecard because she doesnt drive anymore but needs to be close as she cant hardly breath anymore (but keeps smoking :roll

If I'm running in for her for something I'll just park in a normal space but there has been times when she was going to go in so I park in the handicapped space then she'll say "ohhh I dont feel like running in" so I have to move the car .
Her and those electric carts is a riot.She hits something or someone most every time we take he out.

I still cant figure out why there are so many handicapped spots at a home improvement store though.

I found an electric cart on GL last year and we fixed it up and gave it to her on christmas even though she was with us when we picked it up.
I had to buy new batteries for it and do a bunch of work and cleaning and painting but it works.

[Reveeen]

I still cant figure out why there are so many handicapped spots at a home improvement store though.

1) there are laws setting a certain percentage of spots for handicapped.

2) a lot of handicapped people have some kind of "deal" going on. Some may be war vets, some might have insurance, some may be government funded. Handicapped folks in these categories may have money to burn on home improvements eg: complete modified kitchens. This type of project, or I should say, the cost of this type of project, is at least double what the cost is of a "normal" project, and the home improvement store is attempting to cater to this trade.

At best, you, or I, might go into a home improvement store, and buy a 1/2 a pick-up truck load of, say, knock-down kitchen cabinets, take them home, and install them, profit margin on the sale 10-15% (of the purchase price). Typically the same stuff installed is 3X the purchase price, the profit margin becomes 110-125% (after labor), whose business would you want?

[gyjoe]

Originally Posted by Reveeen

I still cant figure out why there are so many handicapped spots at a home improvement store though.

1) there are laws setting a certain percentage of spots for handicapped.

There is your answer.

A few years ago where I worked, my employer was required to mark the closest two stalls to the door as handicapped stalls. The rest of the stalls were on the other side of the center aisle of the small parking lot. This would normally be fine, but a handicapped person who would have difficulty walking across a parking lot would not have been able to do the work done by the employees there anyway. And the public did not normally visit that building. In a nutshell, there was no need for handicapped stalls there. But the law is the law. So any time we had to carry heavy items that we had previously backed up in front of the door to unload now had to be carried from the stalls on the other side of the aisle.

I once read that it is estimated that about 50% of handicapped parking permits in this state are fraudulently obtained, and judging from the numbers of able-bodied men and women I have seen springing from their cars parked in the handicapped stalls with handicapped permits prominently displayed, I believe it. So I suppose fraud has something to do with the increase in the numbers of handicapped stalls as well.

And no, I am not against legitimate handicapped parking.

[AZ200cc]

I wonder why the spaces are so far away, Never made much sense to me.