I ride this horse a lot, but charging for disabled parking would solve a lot of problems, the biggest of which is the misuse and counterfeiting of the disabled blue placard (or blue badge as they call it in the UK). Here is a letter to the Editor from a Derbyshire newspaper. I reprint it in full:
I READ with interest that the new leader of the council in Chesterfield is to make one of his priorities to slash the charges for disabled car parking.
I recall that I first suggested charging disabled people to park a few years ago at one of the annual council tax meetings. I was informed then, that 25% of the parking spaces in Chesterfield were allocated to disabled people, and at that time they parked free of charge. The other 75% were paying heavily for this anomaly. I also saw this as a huge loss of revenue when finances were tight.
My reasoning behind my suggestion was that it was folly to presume that all blue badge holders were on the breadline, and not able to afford any charge for parking. But in reality, anyone who has the misfortune to be disabled can apply for a blue badge, from unemployed people right through to millionaires. So why should they have free parking. What blue badge holders require is ample parking close to all amenities. That should be the council’s priority.
It is their disability which needs assistance, not their finances.
Yep – This fellow is right on.
JVH
3 Responses
Not only do the disabled park for free at parking meters and don’t have to adhere to time limitation zones, but our city goes even further and allows them to park for free in our permit lots where the able bodied commuters pay premium prices.
I’m all for making parking accessible for the disabled, but with newer parking meters and pay stations meeting ADA standards, this outdated law needs updating.
As far as time limitation zones go, (i.e. 2 hour zones, 3 hour zones, etc.) fine….lets give the disabled an extra 1/2 hour before a fine is assessed, but to allow blatant abuse of these prime shopper spaces in a downtown area is only adding to a problem already caused by business owners parking in front of their own stores.
The State of Pennsylvania mandates a 60 minute extension to any time limit or meter expiration. So we can issue a ticket to a HC tag only after the meter has been expired for a hour, but it does require an initial payment. I think that is very fair.
So you are telling me that if you have a meter and the time runs out in one hour, you can’t write a citation until two hours are up? If so, do people know about this? I have a lot to say if I have understood it properly.
JVH