As part of the government’s “Wishing You a Good Pregnancy” policy, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Transportation has added priority parking spaces for pregnant women at public parking garages and government agency parking lots, but without any enforceable statutes or a way to limit who uses the spaces — not to mention that the spaces are no bigger than regular parking spaces — it makes getting out of the car very difficult for pregnant women.
The standard size — 2.5m wide — is used when drawing the stripes for parking spaces designated for pregnant women, which is relatively cramped and inconvenient for a woman who is several months pregnant when trying to get in and out of a car. The spaces for pregnant women are encumbering compared to the size of parking spaces for the handicapped — 3.5m wide.
When a reporter recently went on site to look at the city government’s Fuqian Car Park in Taipei, he only saw one spot left out of eight designated spaces for pregnant women, and none of the parked cars had anything to show that the owner of the vehicle was pregnant or carrying a pregnant passenger. When the reporter invited a pregnant woman to try the parking space, she said that it felt quite constricted.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者吳亮儀
Last year Keelung also started providing priority parking spaces for pregnant women, but this was met by public discontent due to the smallness of the spaces, so the Keelung City Government decided to transform three regular parking spaces into two larger spaces for pregnant women, significantly increasing the width of the spaces to allow pregnant women to comfortably get in and out of their cars. The Taipei City Parking Management and Development Office says that it currently has no plans to widen spaces for pregnant women, but that it will take up the issue again if enough people complain.
The office says that there is currently no way to verify whether an owner of a vehicle is pregnant or carrying a pregnant woman, so it encourages the public to politely yield designated spaces to pregnant women, and be sure to park as proportionally as possible, leaving the appropriate amount of space on both sides of your vehicle so that pregnant women can easily get in and out of parked cars.
There are currently 233 parking spaces among Taipei’s 90 public parking garages with designated parking for pregnant women, and all government agencies and many hospitals now also provide designated parking spaces. Pink stripes have been added to the designated parking spots along with pink paint on the columns surrounding the spots to help set apart the spaces for pregnant car owners or car owners carrying pregnant passengers.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者吳亮儀
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
台北市交通局配合「助妳好孕」政策，在全市多處公有停車場和行政中心設置「孕婦優先停車位」，不過沒有法源依據、無法限定對象使用，加上停車位都是正常寬度，對已大腹便便的孕婦來說，下車時頗為困難。
孕婦優先停車位大小都採標準的停車格位劃設，寬二點五公尺，對已懷胎多月、大腹便便的孕婦上下車時，會顯得有些擁擠、不便。相較於一般身心障礙停車格的寬度三點五公尺，孕婦停車格顯得稍擁擠。
記者實地到府前地下停車場觀察，八個孕婦優先停車位僅剩一格，停放的車輛都沒有特別的標示、無法確認車主是否為孕婦，或載送孕婦；記者也請一名孕婦實際體驗，發現下車時確實感覺有點擁擠。
基隆市去年曾試辦孕婦優先停車格，也遇上民眾反映車位太小，基市府便將三個停車格的格線塗銷、同樣空間改劃設兩個孕婦優先停車格，寬度大增，讓孕婦下車輕鬆。台北市停車管理處表示，目前沒有打算增加孕婦停車格寬度，若有許多民眾反映，會再做考量。
停管處表示，無法查核車主身分是否為孕婦、或有載送孕婦，因此呼籲民眾盡量禮讓孕婦優先停車位給需要的人使用，停車時也盡量停靠整齊，留出適當空間給旁邊的車輛，讓孕婦好下車。
目前在全市九十個公有停車場共有兩百卅三個孕婦優先停車位，各行政中心和多處醫院也都有設置，在車位格線內會加繪粉紅色內框，並在兩旁柱子漆粉紅色以利辨識，提供孕婦車主或載送孕婦的車輛使用。
（自由時報記者吳亮儀）
1. handicapped adj.
殘障的 (can2 zhang4 de5)
例: This area seriously lacks ramps and sidewalks for the handicapped.
(該地嚴重缺乏殘障者可以使用的坡道與人行道。)
2. constricted adj.
狹隘的；受限制的 (xia2 yi4 de5; shou4 xian4 zhi4 de5)
例: Her airways are constricted due to asthma.
(氣喘使她的呼吸道緊縮。)
3. set apart v. phr.
使突出；使分辨 (shi3 tu1 chu1; shi3 fen1 bian4)
例: Unique character traits are the only thing that set the twins apart.
(雙胞胎僅能從各自的獨特個性分辨出來。)
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