THE quality of life enjoyed by the island's physically handicapped could soon improve, as Government is to consider legislation which would afford them rights and privileges which have eluded them for years.

That Government is even considering enacting laws represents a minor victory for Willard Fox (pictured), a wheelchair user and chairman of the Bermuda Physically Handicapped Association who has championed the cause for the past 40 years.

He said yesterday, however, that while he welcomed the changes, he did have his concerns about how they might be made.

"I've been involved with the Association for the last 40 years," he said. "We had the same problems then that we have now. Handicapped people in Bermuda have to fight for their rights. What happens usually is that they tell us they're doing something to shut our mouths for a while - and then they find what they're doing is wrong.

"Minister of Transport Dr. Ewart Brown has told me he's working on it at the moment; he is looking at possible changes. I'm very pleased that efforts are being made but I only hope they consult someone who knows about the physically handicapped."

Like many on the island, housing, transportation and parking are high on Mr. Fox's list of demands. At present, he says, the average home is designed without the handicapped - or elderly - person in mind, making wheelchair negotiation difficult and limiting the ability for people to cope on their own.

Without reliable transportation, he said, job possibilities were slim to none and socialising outside the home was, at best, infrequent. For those with transportation, parking presented a new set of difficulties - bays are often too small and/or poorly placed and, very often, occupied by drivers who aren't handicapped.

Only two weeks ago, Julie Symonds wrote a letter to Corporation of Hamilton Secretary Roger Sherratt which she copied to The Royal Gazette, complaining of the poor positioning of parking bays for the handicapped and detailing the experience of her elderly and lame mother in trying to park her car in a handicap zone.

According to Mrs. Symonds, a poorly parked car occupied part of the handicapped bay, making it difficult for her mother to negotiate her vehicle into the spot. When she pointed out this to a traffic warden, Mrs. Symonds said her mother met with little sympathy.

"The traffic warden said, 'Well, there's another space down there,' and pointed westward. My mother told her she was lame, and was going to use a parking voucher. The traffic warden said she could only use a voucher on the street and not in a parking lot.

"Fortunately, she had enough change to hobble to the machine and get a sticker . . . If a handicapped person has to pay and display, please put the handicap parking space near the machine." The behaviour was inexcusable, Mr. Fox agreed, but said it was, fortunately, atypical of that of the general population.

"The traffic warden was wrong to say to park somewhere else," he said. "Generally, being a handicapped person in Bermuda is very comfortable; it's the best place to be handicapped because people still care. They're willing to lend assistance in whatever way they can.

"What (handicapped) persons need to realise is that they have to go the extra mile - get the person's badge number and make a complaint. Had she taken the warden's badge number and reported the incident to the Commissioner of Police, it is likely the warden would have received a tongue lashing."

Part of the problem, the chairman explained, was the absence of legislation concerning handicapped parking. It was through the generosity of the Corporation of Hamilton and private businesses that they were provided at all.

"Because there is no legislation regarding handicap parking, people without handicap stickers on their cars but who park in handicap bays can't be fined or ticketed because there is no law saying they can't do that," Mr. Fox said.

"The handicap parking spaces that are available have only been provided to us as a courtesy of the Corporation of Hamilton. For the most part, people are very considerate. But then you have those businesses with trucks making deliveries who use the handicap parking spots because they're the closest to the building; they're the most convenient.

"It's especially a problem at the MarketPlace in Shelly Bay where their (delivery vehicles) block customer traffic unless they're parked as close to the entrance as possible. The closest point, of course, is the handicap parking space.

"The staff at Gorham's Limited are very helpful. Because the cashiers are right in front of the doors, they monitor the handicap space and will often tell people who park there without handicapped stickers that they have to move.

"At present, some bays are so small, we can't open our car doors for fear of hitting the next car. Our parking bays need to be a bay and a half. Some people need to open the door all the way so they can use it to support themselves as they get out of the car or they need to open the door so there's a wide enough space for them to get their wheelchair to the door.

"But the Corporation is making an effort. I talked with Roger Sherratt who said they're reviewing all the parking spaces; they're going to change it all around. But the biggest problem for us is transport. If we had that, many of us could get a job, do our own shopping, go to school even.

"I know many people who were interested in furthering their education but had to drop out because they didn't have reliable transportation. It puts our livelihood at stake."

Dr. Brown was not available for comment yesterday.