Disabled Parking?

[Southwest Dave]

Hi

Hope this helps.

It does indeed, welcome to the R.T.A. forums.

Thankyou for coming on board and offering helpful information on your first post, excellent !

I hope you enjoy the forums.

Dave.

[Alexa]

Thanks for all the info. I have a placard that I always carry with me for display when I use other family members' cars (or friends') and when I rent cars. On the car I own, I have a permanent license with the wheelchair symbol. While I've never needed a handicap permit in other countries, I have used mine all over the USA and Canada and never had a problem.

The only time I ever had a problem was when I parked in a space and walked into the building with my placard in my purse. I got out of paying the ticket simply by going to the police department with ticket, placard, driver's license, and mobility impaired card in hand. They photocopied the whole mess and dismissed the ticket.

Sometimes, instead of hanging the placard, I've just left it on the dashboard, and have never had a ticket. One time, I forgot my placard at home, so I put my mobility impaired ID card on the dashboard, and no problem.

I also forget which car I'm driving and sometimes don't hang the placard when I use my daughter's car. Thankfully, no one was ticketing on those days.

Happy travels!

[Mark Sedenquist]

This comment by member wec67 were sent to me via personal e-mail, but I really thought they would be helpful to others so....

While we have never RV'd because they are just too few to find and rent, we have been to many national parks and nature trails. I read the page you linked and I would agree with it. Full accessibility can be a challenge due to the things you note like grading, gravel or other barriers. I would strongly recommend travelers call ahead to ask about accessibility. Don't just ask, is it accessible. The answer is always yes. Ask specific questions about grading, site access, pathways, ramps, stairs, facilities, etc. Ask "what can't I access in a wheelchair?"

That question usually gets someone thinking differently. We rented a beautiful cabin this summer in Tennessee that we found online that was specifically listed as wheelchair accessible. The photos online all showed a lovely one level wooden cabin with all the amenities of home including a disabled bathroom and ramp to access the wrap around porch. We called to confirm all information and were confident this would meet our needs. When we arrived there was a 4-6 inch step to get into each doorway from the porch! We never thought to ask that question. We called the owner (from the porch) and he came out in 10 minutes with lumber scraps to build a makeshift ramp for us to access the door. Lucky for us, he was quite willing to help and was very apologetic and it worked for us.

My wife and I frequently say, "Putting a blue wheelchair sticker on the bathroom doesn't make it accessible".

Candy Harrington has written more books recently.

I think she is a good resource for disabled travel.

The link I posted this morning was the most complete site I have ever come across about disabled parking/permits. It was very comprehensive. I was surprised to find out in NYC they don't honor any permits except a NYC resident one. We went to NYC a few years back and luckily parked in a public lot or we would have been ticketed and towed if we parked on a street. Some cities allow free parking for those with disabled permits. Again, a bit of internet research can help a traveler before they go.

I'm glad to help out where I can.

Ed

Other resources on RTA:

Links Resource

An article written by Alice Zyetz about RVing with disabilities

[Mark Sedenquist]

Sheesh, I had no idea about that restriction on handicapped placards in New York. Seems outrageous to me.

Mark

[glc]

That restriction is only in New York City, and it only applies to on-street parking. When was the last time you ever saw an on-street space available in NYC anyway?

[Mark Sedenquist]

George,

Remember I used to park really, really big RVs in downtown Manhattan. I have some trade secrets -- but it's really not that hard to find parking spaces -- just have to get a bit creative... (always carry large orange traffic cones...)

Mark

[CAnative]

There were some universities and colleges (in CA) which had their own registration process to use a handicapped placard for their handicapped parking spots. It seemed ridiculous and redundant so I hope it has changed.