I am writing to endorse the recommendations of the Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities regarding downtown parking for people with disabilities. Pedestrians have so little space downtown that people with disabilities who use mobility devices can't walk very far on the street. More parking options need to be made so everyone can participate in downtown life.
For many years I sat on University of MN Disability Issues committee. The U of MN has a great volunteer enforcement program that works well with the U police department. I have a disabled parking permit & I use it properly but many are abused. Improving enforcement helps everyone. I helped out with the U's volunteer enforcement program (mostly tagging cars with warnings) & would love to see that option work in downtown. I have a cellphone & would be happy to call a direct number for disabled parking violations. The U of MN also has 3 hr parking limits before 4pm on their limited handicap parking spaces. There are some pros & cons with this method & I encourage your committee to research the issue further to find the best hours for parking limits. Also I'd be interested in the cost of signage, publicity, & enforcement for timed parking limits. The reduced cost ramp parking & long-term parking permits would really help poeple with disabilities who work downtown. When I park downtown, its short-term, ususally after 4pm or on weekends. When ramps are full, the handicap parking spaces are usually available but there is no way to get into access them. I find that to be very frustrating. -amanda tempel northeast (long time reader & first time posting) The issues: *Enforcing meter time limits for people with disabilities. Those with permits or stickers still won't have to feed the meter, but their parking time could be limited to 2-4 hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. *Long-term Parking Permit. People with disabilities who need all-day metered spots could apply for a new long-term parking permit. *Reduced-Cost Ramp Parking. The city could make contract parking spots in city-owned ramps available to people with disabilities at 50 percent off the normal price. *Better Enforcement. Under the proposed plan, the city's parking enforcement office would better ensure that parkers don't fraudulently use a valid disability parking permit. *A Volunteer Enforcement Program. People from the disability community may help make sure that non-disabled people aren't using disability parking permits fraudulently. _______________________________________ 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
