Double amputee who lost both legs in gas explosion slapped with parking fine

Ian Winson double-parked at a Wilson carpark because he needed space to operate his wheelchair hoist. Photo / Dean Purcell

A double-amputee got a ticket for parking his specialist van across two parks because he needed room to exit the vehicle in his wheelchair.

Ian Winson, a civil engineer who lost both legs above the knee after a gas explosion which killed fellow Watercare employee Philomen Gulland in Onehunga in 2011, received the $50 ticket on Saturday from Wilson Parking's enforcement arm on an outing with his wife and two young sons to Henderson's WestCity shopping mall.

He said the mall's handful of disability parks were full, and all except one would have been too narrow for his side-loading power wheelchair hoist, so he did the "logical" thing and left his ACC-approved Mercedes Sprinter van across two regular spaces.

Because he needs 3m clear beside the van to operate his hoist, the alternative would have been to park in a single space and risk being boxed in by a second vehicle next to him.

He chose a side-loading van for maximum mobility after his accident, as he considered a more common rear-entry hoist too dangerous when parking at angles to roads and hence passing traffic.

Although his van has a prominent sign asking other motorists to leave him enough room, he has endured long waits for people to return to their cars and let him back in to his.

"I have waited 25 minutes for someone to come and move," Mr Winson told the Herald last night at his Green Bay home.

Despite the loss of his legs and damage to his arms, ruling out a manual wheelchair, Mr Winson used prosthetic limbs and a reclining tricycle to complete the New York Marathon in four hours and five minutes on November 1.

A former triathlete, he also swims several times a week and his next mission is to learn to walk again.

But his frustrations with Auckland's parking officers are forcing him to consider approaching ACC for a smaller van in his pursuit of a regular family life with wife Katherine and sons Joshua, 11, and Ethan, 7.

"I'm trying to keep everything as normal as possible, but I'm getting to the point now where I'm going to say to ACC I've got to get a smaller vehicle, because this is not working.

"It's causing too much stress and we don't want any more stress. "

Mr Winson said he preferred to leave disability parking spaces for people who had trouble walking, as opposed to him with his powered wheelchair, but by law they only have to be 3.5m wide.

"I like to think I'm quite logical and I was doing the obvious thing - not taking up a disability space and by parking over two spaces leaving everyone in a safe position, so what's the big issue?"

A spokeswoman for Wilson Parking's enforcement subsidiary said its officers were expected to be lenient with any vehicle displaying a mobility pass or which clearly had mobility-assistance equipment, whether parked in a designated mobility space or standard bay.

She said it was "very likely" - based on information relayed by the Herald - that the notice would be waived on appeal by Mr Winson.

Westfield spokeswoman Deb McGhie described Mr Winson's breach notice as "very unfortunate" and said the company would ensure it was waived.

She hoped he and his family would not be put off visiting the mall and invited him to phone ahead next time so arrangements could be made.