Do pregnant women deserve special parking privileges?
Pregnant New Yorkers may be entitled to
free parking, thanks to New York City Councilman David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn). Yep. Special privileges for the maternity set in a city that has people who don't often offer up their subway seat for pregnant women.
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Greenfield's proposal, in theory, is pretty rad. Women who are having "difficult pregnancies" could park for free in no-parking or no-standing zones with a note from their doctor. The rule would even give them a cushion of 30 days after their due dates, just in case those ladies deliver late or have postpartum recovery challenges.
The story has already brought out plenty of commenting haters, with 56 percent of polled Daily News readers saying there isn't enough parking as it is.
Now, I could see parking lots in the suburbs having this policy, but let's focus on the real problem: pregnant commuters standing on buses and subway trains. This happens every day, and you know you've seen it happen. Or it's happened to you.
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How hard would it be for a councilman like Greenfield to amend those signs in train cars reserving seats for the elderly and disabled to include pregnant women? Or to require that bus drivers make announcements kindly suggesting that riders offer their seats to pregnant women?
I avoided the bus like the plague during my pregnancy, mainly because the driver would jerk the bus forward before I even got close to a seat. I even had one female driver make me exit from the rear although I was sitting next to the front door!
As for the subway, I couldn't believe how late in my pregnancy people really took notice. Sure, just days before I delivered, I would get on the train and not have to dramatically look around for a seat. But two weeks before that? Trust me, I rode several stops before anyone noticed or cared, and it took awhile just to get to that point.
Greenfield's proposal is a nice idea, but it's just a Band-Aid for a bigger issue.
Do pregnant New Yorkers deserve parking privileges or is there a better solution?
Image via Flickr/cordelia_persen
Written by Lauren Flynn Kelly for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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