Handicap Placards "Free Ticket" for Downtown Parking

"Next time you get ticketed..." courtesy of Seattlest Flickr pool member Musely

KIRO 7 says many people parking downtown are cheating by using handicap placards that do not legally belong to them. Those with placards have the ability to park for as long as they like in pay spots on the street, and since it's illegal to tow handicap vehicles in the state of Washington, have little to worry about.

One man, when asked how it feels to be a handicapped 77-year-old woman, apologizes for his illegal use, saying, "It was a one-time thing," but KIRO's David Quinlan pointed out they had been watching the man park there for the past two weeks every day, for free.

We happen to work on one of the "problem" blocks KIRO filmed in their investigation, 9th and Howell, and we kept this story in mind yesterday while taking a walk on our lunch break. In a three-block radius, every pay parking spot except for two were being used by cars with handicap placards: 22 cars!

SPD claims that they have a specific group of officers to find and ticket placard abusers, but that unless caught in the act, they can't always issue the $309 ticket. Our question is, if this is what's going on two blocks from the police department, and the police have been "cracking down" since 2004, how is it that we never see anyone on our problem block getting a parking ticket?

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By Jen in News on April 1, 2009 4:00 PM

Comments [rss]

herbisara

People are just flat out lazy. It's no wonder Americans are so overweight!

beanfair

I am a disabled woman with MS. I have two placards one for my car when I can drive myself and the second one for exacerbation, when the MS flares worst than usual and I have to rely on others to drive me to doctor, groceries etc.

I am amazed about how often I am asked if someone can borrow my second placard for better parking for themselves. They just don't get it. It isn't the money issue, it is the accessibility issue. Walking three blocks from your parking spot to your destination may be a drag on a rainy day for most, but even with my walker and my service dog that three block walk maybe more than I can handle. I venture downtown only 1-2x a year because parking is so difficult for me.

Balzaak

I feel much safer knowing that KIRO is keeping an eye out on the subversive criminal activity that rots the core of the city.

Maybe, if we're lucky, they'll start going after those people that park longer than the set amount of time at the meters