ACCESSIBLE PARKING - DON’T USE IT IF YOU DON’T NEED IT

    DISABILITY ACTION CENTER NW -  Imagine that you have purchased an accessible van for you and your wheelchair that will enable you to move around more independently and take care of your own needs!  You drive into the parking lot at your favorite store, you head for the van accessible parking only to find that a little car without an accessible placard has taken the space.

    Unfortunately, it happens all the time.  Then where do you go?  Usually to a far corner of the parking lot that will provide you with two spaces in order to open your door and get out in your wheelchair.  What happens when you come back to the van and try to get back into it and a car has parked in the space next to you, blocking the ramp that drops down to get you back into your vehicle?  And if you are in a space far away from the front entrance to the store, what are all the obstacles that you may face trying to get to the door?  It could be snow, rain, or being too low for most drivers to see you in your wheelchair in the parking lot, to name a few.

   Think misuse of accessible parking doesn’t happen often?  It happens all the time.  Consider this common true story.  A woman injures her ankle.  During her recovery her doctor gives her a placard to enable her to be close to the building at public facilities.  Her ankle heals just fine, she recovers completely and is now able to ski and play tennis.  Her placard that allows her to park in accessible parking is still in her glove compartment and used on a regular basis!

   WHY?  Because it is convenient for her.  Never mind that someone else who has a real mobility issue will not be able to park close to the building.  In fact, the person with the real mobility issue may not be able to get to the building at all.

   If you have a placard from an old injury and you don’t need the accessible parking space, discard the placard.  If a family member uses the permit but they are not with you, you shouldn’t use it.  You don’t need the accessible space.  If you don’t have a placard but feel the need to take the space anyway, then you are deserving of the up to $250 fines that are given to people who disrespect the signage. 

  Next time you want to get a little closer to the building and will have to use an accessible space to do so, think about what you are doing to the people who really need the space.  Don’t use it if you don’t need it!