The end to free metered parking for disabled people is being contemplated by Washington after finding out the current meter system is being abused, Reuters reported.
A report created by a nine-member work group last week suggested more restrictive rules and standards for unlimited street parking. Factors such as an inability to put coins in a meter or walk more than 20 feet should be the basis for providing eligibility to disabled people.
It's an attempt by the Washington state legislature to create a balance between the needs of some 750,000 people eligible for disabled parking privileges and concerns that the privileges are being widely misused.
A separate "meter exempt" placard will be available for the eligible people under the new standard, Reuters reported.
Free and unlimited street parking has led to fraud and abuse of disabled parking privileges by people who were not disabled, but found ways to buy or use the placards, said the report's authors, who included advocates for the disabled and officials with the state's health and licensing departments.
Parking in handicapped spots will still be accessible to holders of the current state-issued placard under the recommended changes but would no longer get unlimited free street parking in metered, time-restricted spaces, according to Reuters.
Local governments would have the ability to create their own lenient rules under the proposal. Also, penalties would increase for fraudulent use of disabled parking passes, from citations to misdemeanor charges that carry the potential for jail time.
Holders of handicap parking placards in at least 10 other states are allowed to park free in metered spaces, with varying degrees of restrictions, according to the report.
People with disabilities ought to be required to pay for parking just like everyone else, said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network. A two-tiered placard system could be "a nightmare" to implement, Reuters reported.
"The goal is to integrate those with disabilities into mainstream society but not let them get some sort of special treatment," he said.
If the proposal is taken up by lawyers, it could be implemented in two years, the work group estimated.
