Set up by Victoria Robert on the new ultra-local online platform voiced.gg, the petition gained support of 70 islanders on the first day.
It calls for the States to carry out an audit of all public car parks to assess the need for parent and child parking and to introduce dedicated parent and child spaces in larger public car parks, with the number of spaces proportionate to the size of each car park.
Also to ensure all future public parking developments include suitable family parking as part of their design and consider allowing heavily pregnant woman to use the spaces. Initial feedback to the petition indicated support to explore practical improvements to parking, with several parents clarifying that they do not need parking spaces to be closer to the entrance, but just wider family spaces to be positioned in car parks.
The issues highlighted with the current parking include not being able to open doors wide enough to remove infant car seats, having to climb through the boot to access children, being unable to retrieve prams or buggies and fear of damaging neighbouring vehicles while trying to lift out children.
Broader accessibility issues for pregnant women, older people and those with temporary mobility issues have also been identified.
Deputy Ross Le Brun said that he has made another request to the Environment & Infrastructure Committee for more parents and child spaces, wider spaces and more blue badge spaces, and wants to see a requirement for planning approval to have spaces designed for reversing in and driving out, so people are not reversing blind into traffic and pedestrians.
The petition has been launched on voiced.gg, a new petition website where each signature comes from a verified Guernsey resident.
Both the UK and Jersey have an official petition system where a set amount of signatures is guaranteed government attention.
There is no equivalent in Guernsey, so the people behind the website intend to email a petition to every deputy once it reaches a certain number of signatures, and publish responses from deputies.
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