Handicapped parking
Tougher laws to check disabled parking abuse
According to a 2010 Seattle DOT report, about 30 to 40 percent of downtown and First Hill spaces are filled with cars possessing disabled parking permits. Out of these permits, over 10 percent were inactive – temporary placards lasting only six months. Presently, the city police estimates 60 percent of disabled placards on the street […]
Chicago’s new disabled placard gets tough on meter parking frauds
The administration in Chicago, Illinois is set to tighten the noose on disabled parking placard abusers. The new state law will add new gray and yellow ‘meter exempt permanent placards’ to the current blue/red placards and disability license plates. While holders of the old placards can still park in accessible parking spots, they can no […]
Crackdown on disabled parking placard abuse in Washington state
Volunteers for the Lacey Police Department in Washington state kept having to ask themselves: Were the disabled parking placards they were finding in drivers’ cars valid? Drivers were placing them on vehicle dashboards and then deliberately hiding the expiration date, the volunteers said in their complaints to Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, last year. The state legislator […]
Vigilante app or helpful aid for accessible parking?
Winnipeg, Canada, became the testing ground last month for a mobile app that is either a boon for frustrated drivers, city revenues, and the disabled in search of accessible parking, or an enabling force for bounty hunters and nightmarish litigation. The app, called Spot Squad, allows users to take a photo of a parking violation—a […]
The end of free disabled parking?
Known (and satirized) for its eco-friendly, left-leaning politics, Portland, OR, may have recently hardened its warm, fuzzy public image. Last week an editorial in the local paper suggested that those with accessible parking permits should pay for on-street parking—just like everyone else. Does this spell the end of free disabled parking? Currently, Portland, like many […]
Orlando gets tough on abusers of disabled parking permits
At nearly 3 a.m. before the Fourth of July weekend, Judith Beal found herself facing jail time for illegally using a disabled parking permit in downtown Orlando. Police had spotted her Chevrolet in a handicapped parking spot late on a Saturday and grew suspicious. They ran the placard hanging from her window and discovered it […]
When handicapped parking is illegal
Denver has taken to towing cars with valid handicapped parking permits, parked in accessible parking spots. Denver’s fine for a handicapped parking violation is now between $100 – $150 dollars. A person using a genuine disability permit can park without paying at a meter for up to four hours (when parking is allowed). Thanks to […]
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