Just curious...
 

I'm hoping maybe someone can enlighten me on this. Why are there no cart returns next to the handicap parking spots? If I need to park there, that would mean I can't walk through the parking lot to put the stupid cart in the return. I usually end up just putting two wheels up on the dirt/grassy area next to the van and hope the store employees will come and take it to put away.

I'm sure this is something discussed in the past but it got me thinking about it this morning when I went to the grocery store and had to use the handicap spot. Luckily this particular store is great about getting carts out of the parking lot so I know it wouldn't be in someone's way for long at all. But it's also the store where you don't even have to take your carts outside yourself because they have a load up service. Now as for the other stores, that's another story.

HMMM, I had never thought of that but there aren't any,

The grocery store I go to seems to be busy enough with handicap people that when you "beach" a cart on the side of the curb next to the handicap spot (there's extra room in their handicap spaces to do this, extra in addition to the wheelchair access space) that the next handicap person to park there will probably take the beached shopping cart into the store.

That grocery store used to have the cart returns right next to the handicap spaces, but for some weird reason there were several handicap people (and non-handicap people) who would park their cars IN the cart return on the busy days when all the handicap spots were taken. (or they'd park in the wheelchair access areas)

My dad always likes it when there's a shopping cart left in the handicap spots, because he's one of those people who will take it inside and use it to go shopping. (he's got a heart condition and asthma. Anything to make walking easier for him is a good thing)

I think it's partly because in the generally accepted, narrow view of disability, needing that spot means you simply must be a WC user, thus unlikely to be using a shopping cart on your own and would have someone pushing and returning the cart for you.

Also, if your stores are anything like mine, the carts are just sort of rolled in the general direction of the return areas. A degree of thought might have gone into trying to prevent those carts from being unintentionally or carelessly rolled into the spots or the WC spacing next to the actual parking area. Of course, since there is no return and those who do push their cart are often likely to leave the cart in the space anyway, that would kind of defeat the purpose of not putting a return area there.:rolleyes: