Countdown stores are cracking down on people who leave their cars in accessible parking spaces without a permit.
Starting today, all four Countdown supermarkets in Dunedin will be using the Access Aware app, designed to report the misuse of carparks in real-time.
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App co-ordinator Raewyn Hailes told Newshub it's a real problem.
"There's tremendous amounts of abuse and we are able through the app to connect live time with council parking services."
CCS Disability Action says prevention measures are needed to stop people abusing accessible parks.
Hailes said the app usually receives 30 reports a day, with just over half of them coming from private parking spaces.
She said the misuse of the parks in supermarkets causes huge problems for people who need to use them.
"Supermarkets are a massive issue for people with impairments because they simply can't go about their daily business if they can't get one of the parks."
The NZTA announced in February it was looking into technology to curb the abuse of accessibility parking.
Software ParkRite will be trialled with the app Parkable to run a pilot on ensuring the people using the spaces actually need them.
A 2016 survey found 17 percent of respondents used the spaces without a permit, and across the country there was only a 50 percent chance a car parked in an accessible space actually needed it.
Newshub.
