Handicapped Parking Awareness Month

Submitted release

The Simsbury Board of Selectmen designated June 2012 as Handicapped Parking Awareness Month. The Simsbury Aging and Disability Commission is launching an educational campaign to inform residents about the rules for using handicapped parking space. The Commission has heard from Simsbury residents with disabilities about having problems parking in the handicapped parking space reserved for them.

Never park in a space “reserved’ for people with disabilities UNLESS you have a permit, placard or handicapped parking plates. It is the courteous thing to do … and it is the law.

Parking there for just a minute ... is 60 seconds too long!

The striped area next to the parking space is called an access aisle and is strictly off limits for parking to everyone, regardless of whether or not they have a handicapped parking plate or placard. The access aisle must be in place in order to ensure that people who use wheelchairs have room to transfer in and out of their vehicles. Only the handicapped parking space itself is reserved for those individuals who have proper identification on their vehicles (i.e., placards, tag or plate) indicating that they are authorized to park in these designated areas. The access aisle or striped area next to the parking space is NOT a parking area..

People with disabilities have told the Commission many stories about the problems they have encountered such as: no handicapped parking spaces available; unable to get back into their van because some parked too close or in the access aisle, waiting for 15 minutes until the driver of the car returned from shopping; commercial vehicles backing into a handicapped parking area to make delivery to a store and staying there for a long time; people running into a store while parked in the access aisle;  a person made a comment about the person in a handicapped space shouldn’t be there - Do you know what a person with disabilities looks or sounds like?, not all persons with disabilities use wheelchairs.

Citizens who see people parking in the handicapped area illegally should be reported to the Simsbury Police Department by calling the routine number (860) 658-3100. The Simsbury Police is supporting the Aging and Disability Commission efforts in educating the public. The fines that may be imposed for failure to display placard, tag or parking in a handicapped area range from $50 to $150.

Just remember “I’ll Just Be A Minute” is NOT a Legal Disability!