The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) invites you to participate in an online survey for people who require accessible parking, or have disabled placard or license plates. The survey takes about 15 minutes and will have a major effect on policies related to parking for people with disabilities. The deadline to complete this important survey has been extended to November 8.
Have you faced challenges when it comes to finding available parking? Have you been frustrated by parking spaces that are designated for people with disabilities but are used by those who don’t need them? What other parking problems do you encounter?
Here is your chance to share your experiences, insights, and challenges. NCIL is part of a newly-formed Accessible Parking Council to address these issues on a national scale.
If you require accessible parking and have a disabled placard or license plate, please take this 15-minute online survey on Accessible Parking and Placard Abuse to ensure your voice is heard.
Results are being reported at a Stakeholder’s Forum on Accessible Parking and Placard Abuse, December 6 in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Access Board, the federal agency responsible for developing and updating the American Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines.
In addition to the National Council on Independent Living, participating organizations include American Association of People with Disabilities, the United Spinal Association, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, and the International Parking Institute, among others.
Your responses are anonymous and appreciated. The more people who respond, the more valuable the survey will be in making positive changes for people in our community.
I have taken so many surveys about Accessible parking and nothing comes from it. I would like to see something more active like promoting apps that already address the problem, like Parking Mobility app. I use it and have had great success in dealing with the problem of accessible parking abuse. Why not join forces and help get communities to take the program
I find the problem is people using the hang tags that do not have a disability at all the hang tag belongs to someone else ,it would be easily solved if the police would do their job and periodically check if they have the papers in their car to prove they are leagally parked in a handicapped spot!
I can’t imagine why we would need anything different from what we already have ,just simply enforce the law !
I get really tired of seeing cars parked in the parallel parking spots in parking lots – those spaces are for vehicles that have to load/unload wheelchairs/mobility scooters from the side or rear of the vehicle. I drive a minivan with a lift in the rear so I can load and unload my scooter by myself (can’t do it with ramps). That means I need at least 5 feet of space behind my van to safely get the scooter in and out, and get on or off it. It’s not safe to do that from an angled parking space – I’ve almost been hit several times by people who are driving through the lot and talking or texting on their phones, not watching where they’re going. People speeding through the lot are also a danger to disabled people whether you’re loading, unloading, or trying to get to the store or from the store to your vehicle.
I’ve had people park behind my van when I’m in one of those parallel handicapped spaces, and in order to load my scooter, I’ve had to get off my scooter, get in the van, pull it forward (sometimes so far forward that the front of the van is in the traffic lane), get out, get back on my scooter, move to the back of the van, open it, get the lift out, drive onto the lift, get off the scooter, let the lift load the scooter, close the van, then walk back to the driver’s door so I can get in and leave. All this time, I have to hope that someone doesn’t drive through the parking lot and hit my scooter while I’m moving the van forward so I can load the scooter – all because someone decided that those striped spaces around handicapped parking spaces are just another place for them to park.
And the store won’t do anything about people who are illegally parked in those striped spaces, and neither will the police – I’ve complained to both many times and my complaints are ignored.