A campaign aimed at raising awareness of the need for disabled parking spaces has been adopted by the City of Hamilton.

Next Tuesday, Hamilton will adopt Purple Tuesday, a British programme that began last year, with a temporary increase of 20 more parking spaces catering to the disabled.

The bays will be added around Front Street, Reid Street and Court Street, which are the city's most prominent shopping areas.

The parking bays, which will be marked with signs, will be monitored by traffic wardens to deter abuse.

Drivers using the bays must display the disabled parking permit as well as their paid parking.

Dwayne Caines, the city's chief operating officer, said: “As the governing body of the disabled parking permits in Bermuda, we are keenly aware of the work that needs to be done in our community when it comes to accessibility, especially in the city.

“We have an ageing society and with over 1,000 current disabled parking permit holders, it is our duty to explore how we can assist where we can so that the disabled shoppers' experiences are more enhanced, especially for the long-term.”

He added: “Purple Tuesday is a young campaign, new to Bermuda, and we hope that other businesses, retailers and restaurants embrace the value that disabled shoppers can bring to their bottom line.”

The city plans to look into permanently increasing the number of disabled parking bays throughout Hamilton after the Purple Tuesday initiative.