Should handicapped parking be tiered?

Not necessarily. That person whose disability is arm-related may have no trouble walking into the store when they arrive. But what about walking back trying to carry their shopping?

Like this spot is for a level 2 handicapped and this is for a level 7, or something like that? That would seem to unnecessarily complicate something so simplistic as it is. My dad’s handicapped, and if 10 were the lowest level of handicap and 1 the highest, he’d probably be like a 4.

This is a challenging question for me. When my husband and I are out and about I am always very irritated when we have to park on the outskirts of the lot in order to be sure we will have room for him to drop the lift and get in and out of his van. I get frustrated when I see seemingly able-bodied people parking in the few spots up front that are van accessible. On the other hand I know there are many people with handicap placards who live with invisible disabilities and in reality it may be more difficult for them to perambulate than it is for my husband. I love being able to type husband! Honestly I think your idea for tiered parking might not be a bad one. Make the spots with room for vans exclusively for vans but have at least a few other handicapped spots close by.

I think @SuperMouse had a good idea. “Make the spots with rooms for vans exclusively for vans…” I would add to that or other vehicles with lifts. On an aside, I have no problem with people who are handicapped having special parking, but it may need to be made a little more strict. I had a neighbor once who had a ground floor apartment with handicapped parking right next to the door. He would walk about a half mile to the grocery store and carry groceries back. I found this ironic as he had the only space next to the door because of his handicap.

Texas encourages that, although I don’t think there’s any law which addresses it. I always park in one of the regular spaces if there’s one near an entrance, or in one of the regular sized handicapped places, never in one intended for vans. I am fully ambulatory, although there are times when the pain in my right leg requires me to use a cane, although those are rare.

My sister had a heart condition that made it difficult for her to walk, but nothing was visible. She needed to be as close to the door as possible.

I think that it is difficult enough to decide who needs a handicapped sticker. I think that to tier it is impossible and impossible to enforce.

@marinelife

This is true.

My dad uses a walker. When I drive him, we avoid parking in the van accessible spot if it’s the only one left. Instead I let him out at the door and then go park in regular parking. I realize many persons with disabilities drive themselves and wouldn’t have this option.

I actually think the best idea is to put pressure on the business owners to create more van-accessible spots. They may not even need to be right up front because people with powerchairs who use vans could use wider spaces further away.

I thin privacy concerns would be an issue. Do you really want your license plate to display “respratory handicap” or “my handicap is worse than yours.”. I’m sure that for many, accepting that they have developed a handicap is hard enough, but then to have it tiered and broadcast would be another emotional blow.

I agree with @marinelife and @Judi. Not only are some handicaps not visible, but privacy would also be a concern. No one really needs to know what type of handicap the people have since it’s really none of their business. My grandfather had a handicap tag at one point because of his respiratory condition. He was a strong man in his time and just looking at him, you wouldn’t really know anything was wrong with him. Due to his respiratory problems though, he could only walk short distances without needing to stop, rest, catch his breath, and then do it all over again. So, sure, his legs could physically do the walking, but that doesn’t mean the rest of his body can handle such exertion.

In all honesty, if the person has a lift in their van (or other vehicle) for their motorized chair, why should they be closer than the person that can’t breath or has a heart condition? I mean, physically speaking, they are able to get around just fine with their chair, so I don’t see why they should be closer than other handicapped individuals just because they need the bigger parking spots to accommodate the lifts on their vehicles.

@Seaofclouds my husband does not have a motorized chair, when we park at the end of a parking lot he has to push all the way up to the front. Because of his injury his body cannot regulate his temperature. That means that he easily overheats during the summer and freezes during the winter and that trek across the parking lot takes its toll. Unplowed snow and ice, rain, potholes, etc. make for wet, slippery, and dangerous trips as well. I do believe that folks with invisible disabilities that limit their ability to handle long distances should be issued handicapped placards and be able to park close as well. But the fact is that without a spot to lower his lift a spot does my husband no good. In reality it is probably up to those with the placards to be considerate of everyone who might need those parking spots, but it would be nice if at least some were restricted for van parking only.

Your idea is great, but how in the world would this be enforced? Peoples medical records and information is secret, so how would law enforcement know the difference?

To be honest, enforcing handicap parking violations is way down on the totem pole for the police, unless there is a complaint.

All valid points but what happens when all the handicap vehicles get to the store at the same time because they think I’m a tier one and the spot closest to the door should be available. Just a thought.

@SuperMouse I wasn’t saying they should be further away, I was just saying that they shouldn’t necessarily be given the closer spots just because their vehicle has a lift and they have a chair. I agree that they should be considerate of each other and leave the van spaces for vans when others are available. The issue really is that there are usually only a few van spots and sometimes they are the only spots left for someone not in a van to take. I don’t think they should forego the handicap spot just because the only one available is a spot for a van though. To me, handicapped parking is already limited enough in some areas, limiting it further by tiers or car types would cause more of a headache in my opinion. There are only so many spots and unfortunately, it’s first come first serve in those situations where the spots are all filled. I’m sorry your husband has to deal with this. It’s a very imperfect system.

The real problem is people that con Doctors into filling forms out when they are not really disabled.
My husband has Stenois and he can not walk far. He is in decent shape and healthy in general but he can not walk or lift things.
They do this at his office to.
Some people do not care that other people honestly have difficulty walking or carrying things.
I often carry things so that my husband does not have to because when he does too much he hurts for a long time. He really should not be asked to do any psychical labor.
Often people park in the spots that have no problem.
I would not use his Sticker but many people use other people’s stickers or plates.

@SuperMouse and others: At the VA where I work, we do have some spots designated for vans only. People don’t always respect that, but most of the time they do.

No one has addressed the issue of non-handicapped who need special parking places, such as pregnant women. San Diego has solved the ‘tiered’ special parking by painting them different colors. The standard Blue, an additional Blue with white stripes for van accessable, and pink for pregnant.

@YARNLADY I’ve seen some parking lots in different places that have “stork” parking which is special parking places for women that are pregnant or have small children with them. Personally, I don’t think pregnant women need special parking places. Sure it’s nice to not have to walk as far when you are getting near the end of your pregnancy, but it’s not a need (unless there are other issues going on). Are the blue with white strips in San Diego only for van parking or does it just designate the spot as being van accessible (and other handicapped individuals can park there as well)?

I think there is a way it could be done and still protect people on saying they are handicapped which they already do by using the placard. Even those who are not really that handicapped use the placards because many people are general lazy and want to save as many steps as they can. Would it be cheap to do? Maybe not.

Having numbered tiers with #1 being most mobile and #5 being less mobile won’t be giving away any specific details of the person’s disability. On the sign that says handicap parking they can have number 1–5 or maybe just numbers 4, and 5 etc. Maybe the law can be changed so that van assessable handicap parking can be further from the door, as it was said many people these days have PMD than ever before so once they unload it and get under the controls they are not using their feet or their arms as they use to be before the Jazzy, Pronto, Hoveround, etc.

Then there is the problem that some people who are designated as disabled have very good mobility. I knew people who had disabled placards because they had seizures or some mental problem like chronic depression but they could walk just as well as the rest of us. What about those who are blind or deaf? They can still own cars, the blind may not be able to drive themselves but they are still considered by legality, disabled. Blind people can use the handicap parking space and they don’t have the problems of those with lung or heart problems.

Maybe how the determination on who gets a placard need to be more defined, all disability doesn’t warrant special consideration in regard to mobility.

@Hypocrisy_Central The main problem I see with designated spots for certain tiers is that it will cut down on the number of available spaces for all handicapped people in general at any given time. If there are 4 spots (for example) specifically for each tier, that’s 12 or so parking spots that the 5th tier 2 person wouldn’t be able to use if the other 4 were taken in tier 2, even if they were all empty at that given time. So that person would have to park in a regular spot, even though there were closer handicapped spots not being used just because their tier was full, which seems like a waste to me.

@Seaofclouds Well it is never going to be a perfect system, it isn’t that way now. With a few tweaks it maybe a better system but surely you can please everyone with it.

The best solution is for people who do not ‘need’ a handicapped parking space to not use them, but, unfortunately, that will probably not happen soon.

My father-in-law does qualify for handicapped parking, but when my mother- or sister-in-law drive the car without him, they do not use the handicapped spaces that are available. I do not think this is true in all cases.

@Seaofclouds Van accessible spaces can be used by anyone with a handicap card, but common courtesy suggests that only vans park there.

@Yarnlady, I agree, but common courtesy is not so common!

@optimisticpessimist

You are correct, it is not true in a vast number of cases. : (

I agree with @Seaofclouds. Pregnancy is NOT a disability.

I’ve also seen signs that say “For families with children.” Excuse me? Kids today need more exercise, not less.

@Dr_Dredd
I agree and most people need more exercise not less..

@Dr_Dredd Instead of special parking, we park far away, in the empty spaces. We need lots of room to get the two toddlers out of the car, but we also believe a long walk is a good thing. Of course, the weather has to be considered.

Agreed…