There is a lot of fuss in Rotterdam about a street full of disabled parking spaces. Local residents suspect fraud and the municipality of Rotterdam starts an investigation.
Earlier this month, images surfaced of a street in Rotterdam, the Buitenhofstraat, which is completely full of parking spaces for disabled people (photo). Local residents suspect that people have reserved a parking space in this way without actually needing it for disabled people, it reports AD. If you want to park the car in front of the door because of a person who has difficulty walking or is ill, you can request a parking space that is linked to a license plate. According to various local residents, however, it would not be the case in this street that so many people have difficulty walking. This would have caused a lot of unrest in the neighborhood, especially because people without such a place are now sometimes forced to park further away from home.
VVD councilor Dieke van Groningen has raised this in the city council. “If it turns out that the permits have been granted inappropriately, then that is downright scandalous and must be stopped immediately.” Traffic alderman Judith Bokhove (GroenLinks) has indicated that this is being investigated. She suspects that this is a new phenomenon.
Previously, there was a high representation of disabled places in another neighborhood, but then no clear cause came to light. In the Buitenhofstraat, however, it goes very far, although several people say that they have such a place AD indicate that they do have someone in the family who needs it. They would also have been screened a second time and have simply gone through the usual procedures, including a medical examination. Alderman Bokhove says he will publish the first results of the investigation in three months’ time. Among other things, the procedure to acquire such a parking space is being investigated.