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City planners to tackle handicap parking issue

Central Oregonian - 5/23/2017

Misuse of spaces, damaged signs raise concern of Prineville Planning Commissioner

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Prineville Planning Commissioner Bob Orlando has seen several types of handicap parking issues in recent months and has taken notes to document it.

Now, he is hoping that the formation of a citizen-led committee and a partnership with local police and government officials can curb the misuse and abuse of the parking spots so crucial to drivers who depend on them.

Orlando highlighted a two-fold problem during last week's city planning commission meeting.

"We have state statutes that outline what the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards are for those parking spots, and a lot of those parking lots have not kept the standards up in signage," he said. "As a result, it is questionable as to whether or not any officer who might notice this can go ahead and cite these cars ? The citation could be fought."

Orlando has also found that people are using handicap placards that have been altered. He said that the expiration dates have been altered and that people are either using one that belonged to a deceased relative or are borrowing an expired one from a friend or family member.

"I have seen kids pull into those handicap spots with a placard and all of them get out of the car and run into the store," he said.

The problem, Orlando has discovered, is that the DMV writes the expiration date of the placard with a marker, which can easily be erased. All people need to do then is write a new expiration date on the placard.

Another problem Orlando has encountered during his research is that some people will simply park in the handicap spot with no placard present and no apparent need for the special parking space.

In hopes of putting a stop to the misuse, Orlando had an informal conversation with Prineville Police Chief Dale Cummins about what was happening.

"He said they don't really have the resources - as most towns don't - to patrol something like that," Orlando said. "I completely agree with that."

So Orlando scoured the internet in search of a fix and learned that one of the more effective ways to curb the issue was to develop a citizen group to combat it. Some communities, he learned, would form groups whose members in some cases have the ability to cite drivers who use the parking spots illegally. Other groups use a smartphone app to provide details to police or the DMV regarding a questionable use of a handicap spot.

"What happens is the authorities can determine whether or not that placard is still valid or if it has been altered," Orlando explained.

Given the issue was raised just last week, no action has yet been taken to form a committee, but City Senior Planner Josh Smith feels the idea is an appropriate one that he feels could help with enforcement of handicap parking compliance.

As Orlando and others work toward that end, Smith and other city leaders must face the issue of damaged handicap parking signs, a recurring problem in the parking lots of several local businesses.

"On the business side of things, how do we get them to put the signs back?" he asks.

Smith points out that filing a civil lawsuit for not replacing the sign can compel a business to replace them, but the city would prefer not to take that step if possible.

"Do we put them in concrete ballasts so if they do get hit, it's OK?" he proposed. "Do we put breakaway signs in so when they get hit they are easily put back up? There is a lot of functional design we could come up with, but the business still has to pay for it and do it - and that is the trick."

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