To Park or Not to Park

2/15/2008 at 07:40 PM

It seems parking spaces are capable of generating a high level of emotion. When it comes to the subject of handicap parking, intensity increases.

Think about popular TV programs, the barometer of social rules, using parking as episode fodder.

• An episode of Coach was about the women teams coaches' remote parking  versus the men teams coaches' close parking in the cold, sloppy Minnesota winters.
• Then, on Seinfeld, George blocked New York City traffic for hours over a coveted space.
• The deacon on Amen (Sherman Hemsley) marked his space with a sign reading, "Don't even think about parking here."
• Curb Your Enthusiasm had Larry outraged over a handicap parker whose disability was stuttering.
• And then there was House whose conflict was between two disabled people -- cane vs. chair.

I'm sure there are more, but these get the idea across.  Parking spaces have a way of agitating our blood pressure, especially when it comes to handicap parking.

I submitted a question this subject to Yahoo! Answers: If you are not disabled, should you be able to park in a handicap space for just a few minutes?

Now, I did not indicate if I was on one side of the question or the other. One lady obviously checked my profile because her answer included the phrase " it's a lot easier for me to walk across the parking lot than it is for someone who has osteoporosis or ms." One fellow obviously did not check because his answer included the phrase "Hell, no, you tart." Hmm. Did he assume I wanted to park in marked spaces guilt free so he called me a tart?

Thirty-nine people answered the question. There were a few short to-the-point answers: three simply said “no," one firm “Absolutely not,” and a resolute “Hell, no.” Generally the answer was no, and many included editorial comments and stories that illustrated the emotion behind the answer.

From people who have a valid placard, there were interesting comments. "You have my parking spot, do you want my handicap too!" This reminded me of the sticker that was once available to leave on illegally parked car windshield that said something like "Do you want to change spaces or places?"

Then there was the long answer that included the ambiguous phrase "You have a choice to park anywhere in the damn lot you want." That could mean any open space is fair game for any driver, but the rest of the answer makes it clear she thinks handicap parking is for properly marked cars only. She recognizes that those few minutes are valuable to both the unauthorized parker and the disabled driver who has to wait before being able to park.

Someone who does not fully appreciate the need for designated spaces left this comment: "So I say, yeah, getting a plate which documents that you're handicapped is rather arbitrary and doesn't serve the spirit of its intention." The intention, I believe, is accessibility for those of us who have hardship parking in narrow spaces and walking long distances.

The threat of parking tickets was mentioned three times. Location finds inconsistency in enforcement, in fine amounts, and in some places there seems to be no official enforcement at all. Travis County in Texas has a unique solution by commissioning "citizen volunteers" to issue tickets and work with businesses to achieve ADA compliance.

It is clear that the rules are not clear.

• One man lamented not using a marked space when his knee was in a cast. Why didn't he ask for a temporary placard? Why didn't his doctor offer that option?
• Many people think pregnant women should be allowed to park in handicap spaces.
• There seems to be resentment against people who are overweight. One comment was "This country needs to lose weight anyway."
• There is often anger if the driver steps out of the car and walks away, disregarding the possibility of hidden disabilities. Are these spaces only for wheelers, canes, and walkers?

This is obviously not a perfect system, but I do not have a solution to offer.

Some responders, however, offered their own solutions.

• Towing is popular with additions of "put through the crusher" or "fined the. . .  amount that that the ticket would have been "
• Then there is the more demonstrative ""I wish I could lower my ramp down on the roof of every car who inconsiderately thinks their couple of minutes are more important than mine." 

This helps us understand why one man wrote "It appears that bullying tactics are being used to 'defend the disabled.'”

Now I have to go back to Yahoo! Answers and select the best answer. This is not an easy task because there were several good ones, and they were obviously thought provoking. All I can say for sure is that I appreciate an available parking space when I get to where I'm going.

 

 

 

Filed under: Vicki's MS Path, disability, disaboom, health, wheelchair, ada, Vicki, handicap parking