Don Retson
Journal Staff Writer
Edmonton - Louise Miller didn't make it to Klondike Days
this
year, though not because she's gone sour on the big fair.
Miller, who uses a wheelchair and drives a hand-controlled
van,
couldn't find a disabled-only parking stall wide enough for
her to
use her elevator lift.
Lots of the wider parking spots are set aside for
handicapped
drivers at the exhibition grounds.
But they're often all taken: sometimes even by big,
strapping kids
who bound out of their vehicles after slapping a disabled
placard
on the dash.
In the past, Miller would have pointed out to such louts
that the
spaces were reserved for the disabled.
Not any more. She says she's tired of being insulted, sworn
at,
subjected to rude hand gestures, lied to, or just plain
ignored.
Some motorists she's taken to task suddenly develop limps,
clutch
at their hearts or even wave their arms spastically. Only
once has
an individual actually apologized and moved the vehicle.
"They have no shame, no morals," says Miller, former head
of the
city's advisory committee on the needs of persons with
disabilities
and a recent winner of the Salute to Excellence Award in
recognition of her contributions to Edmonton.
In 1992, handicapped activists like Miller held great hope
for a
new program aimed at reducing abuse of disabled-parking
permits.
To get an identification pass, doctors would have to
certify that a
person couldn't walk 200 metres unassisted or without
risking their
health.
At the time, 21,491 Albertans possessed permits enabling
them to
park in disabled spots. Today, that number has tripled to
63,031,
and Miller and others say the problem is out of hand.
Edmonton-Rutherford MLA Percy Wickman has had his share of
frustrations, and a few run-ins, with people -- seemingly
the
picture of health -- using disabled parking.
He recalls going to a Superstore on the south side and
finding all
disabled spots were taken. Inside, Wickman saw only one
person
who appeared to have reduced mobility.
Like Miller, he's reluctant to confront people given the
fact that
some people may have unseen handicaps.
Still, Wickman says it's clear from the tripling of
disabled placards
since 1992 that doctors are "far too casual" about filling
out
application forms.
On top of the spiralling increase in legitimate placards,
advocates
for the handicapped say there's a brisk market in passes
obtained
fraudulently. Look-alikes can also be bought in some local
stationery stores.
"We have to get stricter about who gets these passes," says
Neil
Pierce, executive director of the Canadian Paraplegic
Association
-- Alberta, which used to run the program.
More education is needed, he says, to get across the
message that
disabled drivers rely on the placards to go shopping, go to
work
and do errands.
"It's very frustrating when they can't find a place to park
(and)
have to park a mile away," he says.
Concern over the situation led the association to ask city
council a
few years ago to employ a few of its members to patrol
disabled
spaces. Similar programs have worked well in the United
States,
Pierce says, but council turned down the proposal.
Even though handicapped parking has been around for years,
it
doesn't deter everyone. That's borne out in statistics
recently
released by city bylaw enforcement.
In 1997, 2,929 tags were issued for parking in disabled
spaces
without displaying the required placard.
In the first six months this year, the number of tags
issued is 1,927,
a huge increase over last year.
Leada Pitzel, director of parking enforcement and tag
administration, doesn't know why that is, but certainly
hears from
disabled people who feel the city isn't doing enough about
enforcement.
On the plus side, she notes the city has beefed up
enforcement
this year by adding two roving patrols. She also notes the
fine for
parking illegally in a disabled spot was recently doubled
to $150.
"We certainly try, but we can't be everywhere at once,"
Pitzel
says.
And even when bylaw officers do see someone they suspect
shouldn't be in a disabled space, their hands are tied.
For example, Pitzel says officers can't issue tickets to
relatives or
friends of placard holders who may be using the passes for
their
own selfish ends.
"The business of having it transferable creates a lot of
loopholes,"
Pitzel says, noting that bylaw officers can only ensure
that a
vehicle, if it's parked in a designated spot, displays a
valid placard.
Pitzel says she'd also like to see uniform placards across
the
country.
At the moment, passes differ from one province to another,
and
bylaw officers have no way of knowing whether they're
proper.
Nor is it their job to stick around and question the
motorist
displaying the passes.
Miller, who lost the use of her legs in the mid-'80s,
admits people
with disabilities create problems by sharing their placards
with
people who don't need them.
But the major problem, she says, is doctors who can't bring
themselves to say no to all but those in real need.
"It's almost a rite of passage that when you get to 65, you
get your
disabled parking," says Miller, a past president of the
Spinal Cord
Injury Treatment Centre Society.
She knows one doctor who got so teed off that he no longer
fills
out application forms.
The breaking point came when he turned down a patient's
request.
The man returned later in the day to tell him that a doctor
down
the hall had complied.
"I'm no longer your patient," the flabbergasted doctor was
told.
"I'm going with the guy who gave me the placard."
Miller wants the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons
to
tell doctors not to authorize the placards unless there's a
genuine
requirement.
College registrar Larry Ohlhauser says he'll be glad to
look into
the matter if it's officially brought to the college's
attention.
"If there's a segment of the population that's trying to
abuse this
and trying to dupe doctors, then obviously we'd need to
inform
doctors about that."
- Edmonton Journal
Personally, If I am in my wheelchair, I could park further away if adequate
parking space was provided for my lift. Leave the closer p[arking for the hip
replacement and heart problem folks.
Bob