BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Like a high-noon shootout in the old West, I raced toward the empty “stork” parking space at my local grocery store and found myself bumper to bumper with another mom driving a large gold SUV.
I had been gunning for weeks for one of those spaces set aside for pregnant women and new mothers, and now, at eight months pregnant, thought this was finally my day.
But looking down at the SUV’s flashing blinker, I deferred and drove past, instead pulling into an empty spot about 10 spaces away and resigning myself to the long walk.
As I waddled past the SUV, I saw the stick-thin woman get out of her car, and take a child about 4 or 5 years old out of the back seat.
That was it. No baby bump. No new baby in a car seat. No gaggle of small children in tow.
Why was she entitled to that space and not me? Then again, was I more entitled than anyone else just because I had a belly the size of a large bowling ball?
Stork parking spaces started appearing in store parking lots many years ago, though their exact origin is unclear. They can be a lifesaver for new and expecting moms, an annoyance to motorists who don’t believe in the special treatment and a pain for some disabled drivers who feel the reserved spaces take away from those who really deserve them.
“We started seeing it in the last couple of years, mainly in shopping centers with supermarkets,” said Erin Hershkowitz, a spokeswoman for the New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade organization.
“Basically it’s just for mothers who are expecting and to make the shopping experience more comfortable and convenient for them.”
Babies R Us, which has 250 stores across the United States, had been offering stork parking since its first store opened in Westbury, N.Y., in 1996.
The number of spaces varies from store to store, depending on the size of the parking lot and lease restrictions, and there are no laws governing the spaces.
“We want to make ourselves an invaluable partner in preparing for and raising baby,” said Jamie Beal, a Babies R Us spokeswoman.
Some pregnant customers use the spaces, while others prefer to park farther away to get more exercise, Beal said.
In March, California state lawmakers considered a proposal that would allow some pregnant women or new moms to park in spaces reserved for the disabled. The bill didn’t make it out of committee.
Opponents, including some advocates for the disabled and women’s groups, argued that the bill wasn’t necessary. They said if pregnant women have special medical conditions that qualify them for a disabled parking permit, there are already procedures they can follow in California — and some other states — to get temporary disabled placards.
Gloria Kraemer, 51, of Long Island, N.Y., started a Web site in the late 1990s advocating for parking for pregnant women or mothers with young children.
The oldest of her four daughters are 18-year-old twins, and she never had the opportunity to park in stork spaces but remembers thinking there was a need for them.
“With the twins, I was really OK. I could handle them in the parking lot. I had the double stroller,” Kraemer said. “But adding that third one, I thought, ‘Now there really should be something for moms.’”
Kraemer said she sees it primarily as a safety issue. And she said the last thing she would want to do is take away spots set aside for handicapped motorists.
“My concern is for the safety of children and pregnant women,” she said. “As life gets busier, people are more careless in their driving. Cell phone to ear, trying to adjust a/c, fiddling with the iPod while driving. All these things create more accidents, even in parking lots.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
