Pregnant Ontario woman calls for expectant mother parking spaces at GO stations

globalnews.ca
By Lama Nicolas
May 16, 2017

Cindy Hackelberg would like to see expectant mother parking spaces offered at GO Transit station parking lots across the province.

“For pregnant women, walking in a large parking lot can be difficult,” she told Global News. “Especially in conditions like the heat of summer and icy winters.”

Hackelberg is seven-and-a-half-months pregnant and commutes daily from the Langstaff GO station in Thornhill where she lives to downtown Toronto.

She often finds herself walking long distances from the back of a packed parking lot to the train’s platform during the rushed morning commute.

Hackelberg  said she was told to apply for an accessible parking permit by GO customer service, but would prefer not to.

“I don’t feel it’s right to take away an accessible parking space from someone with a disability who needs it,” she said. “I think it’s a separate issue.”

Anne Marie Aikins, a spokeswoman for Metrolinx, said parking is at a premium in GO lots and there are currently no plans to add designated maternity spaces.

“Not every pregnant woman automatically requires an accessible spot and not every family requires an accessible spot,” Aikins said. “Rather than use up spaces that are designated for pregnant women that may or may not need them, we work with women on an individual basis and there are certain spots we can use temporarily for someone who really needs them.”

Metrolinx has offered Hackelberg a solution by allowing her to park in a designated reserved parking space and issuing her a temporary permit.

Hackelberg said she reached out to GO officials several times, not just recently but two years ago during her first pregnancy as well, and was never offered a solution until Global News got involved.

“I think it’s important to shed light on the issue so I’m really glad that Global was willing to pick up the story,” she said.

“It’s not just for me, I think it would be a great thing for all the women, anybody who’s pregnant.”

Hackelberg said adding a few spaces would be seen as a good will gesture by the transit authority, to show support to pregnant women who take the train regularly.

“It would be something really easy to implement,” she said. “It wouldn’t be taking spots away from a few passengers here, it would be simply dedicating a few spots to those who need added convenience.”