Russell Sasaoka wrote: >PANEL RECOMMENDS DOWNTOWN PARKING CHANGES >Responding to reports that up to half of downtown meters are occupied by nonpaying >vehicles driven by people with disabilities, an advisory >committee has recommended major changes in the city's parking policies. >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >I think that they should make the changes... although I believe that there are a >number of vehicle owners that abuse those disability placards by parking with the >placards when they are not really disabled. I've seen some people that show no >disabilities at all get in or out of cars with those placards showing, start their >cars, remove the placards and then proceed to drive away. > Another case where ignorance is not bliss. I have a handicap placard which allows me to park free at any meter anywhere except in front of Great Clips on Lake St. To see me get out of my van and walk into a building, you would not know I'm handicapped. Once I get inside the building, if it's close enough, I have to rest in order to begin breathing again. We are required to take the placards down when the car is in motion, so as not to obstruct our view and perhaps run over someone--very poor form and painful too. Actually, I don't feel that I have to wear signs to prove I'm disabled. I am not a poster child for COPD. On my bad days, or days when the air pollution is really funky, I carry an oxygen tank in a back pack and have canullas up my nose--this is about as much fun as sunburn. Think how you'd feel with hoses up yer noses.
> > >I know that parking enforcement is limited in staffing and that there is not much >that they could do, but it just steams me that there are people that are willing to >take advantage of something like this... > On those rare events when I go downtown, it's usually to city hall or Henn. Co. Govt bldg. There used to be underground handicapped parking in the Govt Bldg (a.k.a. "the toaster"), but 9/11 had the effect of removing underground parking for the handicapped. I don't necessarily subscribe to the notion that someone disguised as a handicapped person is going to pull into the toaster with explosives and blow up the county, but there you are. Further, with the building of the downtown termina (terminuses?) of light rail, the handicapped spots on both Fourth and Fifth St. have gone the way of the atlatl. They may be returned after the train is in place. So count me as one of the people willing to take advantage of the few parking meters downtown. You can get as mad as you've a mind to, but you''ll have to spend the time to get glad again. WizardMarks, Central >_______________________________________ >Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy >Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: >http://e-democracy.org/mpls > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
