Parking Sign(ing Off)

By Margaret Lyons in News on Jan 8, 2008 7:37PM

A new ordinance kicking around City Council says disabled people with city-designated parking spots in front of their homes would no longer have to display a permit sign on their windshield. Apparently people often forget put the sign on their dashboard when they park, and they get tickets--and then they complain to their aldermen.

31st Ward Alderman Ray Suarez is pushing for the ordinance, saying it's unfair how often legit parkers get ticketed, joking "You have to get a letter from the pope to get [a ticket] non-suited." Hay-oh! But the senior policy analyst for the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities disagrees, saying without the permit signs, the city will devolve into a parking free-for all--who would know whom the space really belongs to? Especially because there are so many designated spots.

For $70 and proof of disability, the city will mark off a parking space just steps outside a motorist's front door. In 2006, 11,423 people took advantage of the perk.

Ah yes, the perks of being old and disabled. But seriously folks, why can't the City issue permit stickers? Or those cards that hang from the rearview mirror? Can this problem not be solved by using less or non-forgettable permits? [S-T]