Flynn’s Harp: Growing focus on handicapped-parking abuse in Seattle needs firmer legal steps

“A lot of good my handicapped placard does me since nine times out of 10 times, I can’t find an unoccupied handicapped-parking spot,” says Thorsen. “And when I hang around waiting for someone to leave, I see obviously non-handicapped persons get in their cars and drive away.”

Thorsen promises to start a campaign, in the time he has remaining, “to marshal volunteer forces to shame these scofflaws. I’m smart enough to mount a statewide enforcement strategy to curtail these selfish actions.”

There is a growing irritation at what is seen as “as tremendous amount of abuse” of handicapped placards issued by the state and the sense that the increasing cost of parking in downtown Seattle is leading to illegal use of the placards.

Thorsen  sent me an email last week after running across a column on the  Internet that I did in early 2011 that was aimed at highlighting what  actions have been taken, and what hasn’t been done, to address the placard-abuse problem..

I  noted in the column that Seattle parking officials observed that “the  tremendous amount of abuse of these placards limits access to legitimate  placard holders and other parkers.” Not to mention lost dollars for the  City of Seattle

And reaction of those like Thorsen, as well as ordinary citizens who are merely irritated on behalf of the handicapped, has led to efforts on the part of the City of Seattle to consider seeking action by the Legislature. As yet the City Council hasn’t been able to reach accord with various stakeholders on what form the suggested legislation should take.

But a key step toward agreement on a proposal to the Legislature may come Monday when Seattle City Council representatives meet with the head of the Governor’s Commission on Disability Issues and Employment, an entity Seattle officials view as an essential partner in any effort to get tougher legislation.

Toby Olson, executive secretary of the commission, says he began meetings with Seattle officials earlier this year on finding solutions to reduce the abuse of disability parking placards and strengthen enforcement for disability parking violations.

Seattle officials say they are confident about an agreement that will lead to a bill in the 2013 legislature, but that any proposal must take cognizance of state budget constraints.

Disabled citizens are entitled to park at not only parking spots reserved for the handicapped, but also city-operated paid parking spots without charge. City officials estimate that 40 percent of downtown and First Hill parking spaces are occupied by vehicles displaying handicapped-parking placards.

“The police department and state transportation people “estimate that as many as 50 percent of the placards are being illegally used,” City Councilman Tim Burgess told me for the 2011 column, noting that amounts to 20 percent of the total parking spots in those areas.

State law makes it illegal for anyone but the person to whom the state permit and placard are issued to use placard, tabs, or license plates if the disabled person is not in the vehicle. “You can’t let your friends or family borrow them for their own use,” advises the state website.

Over the past year, the Seattle Department of Transportation has been working with stakeholders, including the Seattle Commission for People with DisAbilities, on putting together a plan that could be submitted to the 2013 Legislature for action.

SDOT and the DisAbilities Commission agree on most steps to address the problem, though the commission disagrees with shortening to four hours the time a vehicle using a handicapped placard can park downtown.

Interestingly, one of the issues both the city agency and the commission agree on is that the law needs to be more strict with physicians who issue the placards.

The Seattle Police Department says that many physicians distribute parking placards “for reasons that may not comply with state criteria” and a key suggestion is adding the name of the issuing physician on each placard.

Another person who ran across my column on the Internet sent me an email some months ago saying he did a test with his own doctor following knee surgery from which he explained he is “now walking without discomfort.”

“I asked my doctor if I could get one of those permits for disability parking. She smiled wryly and said ‘well..hmmmm…I suppose you qualify’. WHAT! I can walk without trouble and it is that easy to get a permit for phantom knee pain that was corrected months ago?”

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