{"id":2266,"date":"2014-02-21T14:01:51","date_gmt":"2014-02-21T19:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingpermit.com\/blog\/?p=2266"},"modified":"2024-08-01T03:45:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T07:45:34","slug":"parking-problems-handicapped-wichita-state-university-exacerbated-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingpermit.com/blog\/parking-problems-handicapped-wichita-state-university-exacerbated-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"Parking problems for the handicapped at Wichita State University exacerbated by construction"},"content":{"rendered":"

With four major construction projects underway, space is tight at Wichita State University (WSU), especially when trying to find parking. The overall amount of parking spaces has decreased, but not for the disabled, who must be allocated a certain number of spots by law. Grady Landrum, director of the campus office of disability services, says that the university actually counts more handicapped parking<\/a> than the law requires, though the spots may have been temporarily relocated due to construction.<\/p>\n

\"Wichita<\/a>

via Wikipedia.<\/p><\/div>\n

But according to Nick Taylor, who has been with the university for fifteen years as a student, teacher, and assistant tennis coach, the reduction in overall parking has caused drivers to be more competitive and potentially increased abuse of the disability parking hangtags or licenses by the perfectly healthy.<\/p>\n

Landrum, who has been with WSU for almost twenty-three years, concurs: \u201cThat happens on our campus, I would say, on a regular basis. Every year it seems to become more and more of an issue, whether there\u2019s construction or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI, myself, have seen people get out of their car, put two gym bags onto their back, and run into the Haskett Center,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n

Landrum\u2019s eyes may be lying to him, though. There are so-called invisible disabilities<\/a>, such as renal failure or chronic dizziness, that don\u2019t signal a handicap the way that a cane or wheelchair, which Taylor uses, will do.<\/p>\n

Taylor believes that campus police need to begin routinely asking drivers parked in handicapped spots for their ID, since motorists with disability tags are required by law<\/a> to carry an identification card with them at all times.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you truly need a handicap spot, you should not be offended that they\u2019re asking you for that identification card,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019re in a wheelchair or you have a hidden disability, the whole reason that\u2019s being enforced is to try to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, however, campus police lack enforcement procedures during school hours. To mitigate some of the parking issues caused by the construction projects, the university instead offers tips on its parking website, including a list of low-usage lots and parking-occupancy levels based on class times. It also reminds students of its free campus shuttle service, which runs from 7am to 10pm on weekdays and has recently added new stops\u2014Fairmount Towers, Devlin Hall, and Wheatshocker Apartments\u2014to its route. A stop for Dueksen Fine Arts Center in the southwest quadrant of campus will be added mid-semester.<\/p>\n

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