Finally, someone has the right idea. It’s time to put on my Simon Legree hat and say that handicapped people should pay for parking. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, they have told the handicapped folks that they are going to start enforcing the law. Seems the law says that handicapped people get two hours free, but it was impossible to track that using the old style meters. The new P and D meters allow for that tracking, so the disabled will have to pay for parking.
Here’s the deal. Most disabled want access, not charity. The problem is that there are many more disabled placards out there than there are legitimately disabled people. In Manitoba, it turns out that there are 2 and a half times the national average of disabled placards issued. Why? Will duh – so people can park for free and take spaces from those who legitimately need them.
There have been scandals at universities where athletes have gotten permits and in states where forged doctor’s notes means free parking. Funny thing, though, where you have to pay whether disabled or not, the incidence of cheating goes way down.
The Florida Disabled Vets told me a few years ago that they were lobbying for pay as you go parking for the handicapped. Florida has one of the worst records of cheating with handicapped placards. The seasoned citizens in the state, and there are a lot of them, feel that they should have the ‘right’ to park for free and are taking all the spaces that truly handicapped people need. The law there has been tightened a bit.
I know Winnipeg relatively well. These are folks of great Midwestern stock. They have a beautiful city, great ballet, theater, and symphony. They know how to take care of their own. And they are doing it the right way.
JVH
