Memphis issues with the accessible parking aisle.
By Sandi Klink
Even before the Americans with Disabilities Act passed into law in 1990, accessible parking was a convenience needed by many seniors and people with mobility issues. “Handicapped parking” has been clearly marked and fine amounts have been posted for anywhere from $20 to $200 depending on the location but who enforces the fines? NO ONE!
Security guards in most parking lots don’t enforce and allow people to park in access aisles daily. Many officers don’t even understand what an access aisle is!
Just as a reminder, an access aisle provides clearance for an individual with a mobility aid to get in and out of their vehicle. For instance, I use a power wheelchair and an accessible van. The ramp deploys from under the floor after the ramp door has opened. It extends into the access aisle several feet and then I must have room to get off the ramp at the bottom, at least another 3 feet to turn.
I am a very independent woman and am most often shopping, making presentations, attending church, town halls, etc. by myself. If I can find a van parking spot with appropriate access, I will park. But often of late I have exited my errand or work event to find that the access aisle is now full of a car.
I do understand the frustration of needing close parking and not finding any, but denying access to someone else, making them wait for the car to move or going to shops or offices nearby to see if anyone knows who parked in the access aisle is more than likely to cause some flared tempers and inappropriate responses.
Sometimes I have a family member or coworker who rides with me and can pull the van out and let the ramp out for me but not often. What would you do if your independent mother or grandmother were in a similar spot?
Not only old people, like me, use accessible parking spaces. There are lots of parents with growing children with disabilities who use wheelchairs and need the extra room for Mom or Dad to help them transfer out of the car without worrying about someone whipping a little car into that spot.
One in four people in our area are people with some type of disability. Not all need an accessible parking space, but those of us who do should have that right. We should expect our rights to live, work and play and yes park to be observed and if not we must find ways to remind others that violating my civil rights may result in civil disobedience…
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