Handicapped parking enforcement questioned

Monday, June 21, 2021

Please do something about handicapped parking enforcement in the city, a Greencastle resident urged local officials at the June City Council meeting.

Haywood Ware, who walks with a cane, said he’s tired of watching able-bodied individuals park in the handicap-accessible parking spots at places like Kroger, Walmart and TSC with no fear of punishment.

“We need to do something about it,” Ware, a one-time mayoral candidate, said. “I’ve heard all the stories of how we can’t enforce it because it’s on private property. That’s not true.

“If you require them to have it,” he continued, “you need to enforce it.”

Ware said he has observed young people “pull in there (handicapped spaces) with grandma’s car and run in the store. They think it’s OK as long as there’s a tag on it that they can park wherever they want. I asked one kid, ‘What’s your ailment?’ And he said, ‘Oh, this is my grandma’s car.”

Mayor Bill Dory, saying he was uncertain about jurisdiction over the spaces and would have to research it, called Police Chief Tom Sutherlin forward to comment.

The policy has always been that police do not enforce handicap parking violations on private property, Sutherlin advised. He, too, said he will research the issue further.

“If nobody calls the police department or dispatch,” Sutherlin said, “we don’t know about it.

"We don’t have time to drive through private parking lots looking for that.”

Ware, however, said he actually called the police after watching two Jeeps full of young people pull into handicap spots at Walmart. A city officer “came right away,” he said, but advised he couldn’t do anything about it on private property.

It shouldn’t be any different than shoplifting, Ware reasoned. City Police officers respond to shoplifting incidents at Walmart and other locations when they are called.

The difference, city officials pointed out, is that shoplifting is a crime. Parking violations are not.

Handicapped parking is governed by federal law under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Ware said, noting that he has called the ADA office about the situation, which Ware said goes beyond private parking areas.

He said some of the handicapped spots on the courthouse square are not legal, including the newest additions on the east side of the courthouse, because they require the person exiting the vehicle to go out into traffic to access a ramp or sidewalk.

The spot on the south side of the square in front of the old Central Bank building is the worst, Ware said, not only because it puts the driver out into traffic before he or she can access a ramp, but because of the hazards that turning semis and other traffic can create.

“Please do something about it,” Ware urged city officials in summation.

In other business, the City Council approved a number of street closure requests:

-- Washington Street from Percy Julian Drive to Indiana Street and the courthouse for the annual Putnam County Fair Parade 2-4 p.m. Sunday, July 18. Adjacent streets also will be closed 1-4 p.m. as they have in the past

-- South Indiana Street (Washington to Walnut) for the Saturday, June 26 Putnam Pride event, as requested by Joseph Harris of the DePauw Center for Diversity and Inclusion. Time will be 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Approved with the condition businesses on the street be properly notified.

-- Briarwood Court in Whispering Winds for a 2-5 p.m. block party on Saturday, June 26. The event will feature two bands, as explained by Mickie Martin, who asked that the street be closed 1-6 p.m.

-- Fifth Street (Avenue B to Avenue C) for a street party for neighboring children and others. Requested by Larry Dickerson for a 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. closure.

-- South Indiana Street (Washington to Walnut) for an after golf scramble celebration Saturday, Aug. 21 for A Kinetic Change. Julie Carr requested the closure be 4 p.m.-midnight.

-- Walnut Street (Jackson to Vine) for the Pedal Putnam event on Saturday, Oct. 2. The request was tabled so that organizers could consider other options since that day is already filled with activity, including the farmers’ market, along with Old Gold Day at DePauw including the inauguration of new President Lori S. White. “It’s going to be a logjam downtown,” Councilman Adam Cohen commented.

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  • The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the denial of man's motion to suppress, finding Indiana Code doesn't bar law enforcement from investigating violations in private parking lots even if there isn't a contractual agreement with the property owner to allow officers to enforce traffic ordinances.Oct 4, 2010

    -- Posted by Workingthesoil on Tue, Jun 22, 2021, at 8:29 AM
  • *

    Get 'em Haywood!! LoL

    Nice cite, happening.

    Since you took the straight route, let me take another tack.

    I call upon the citizenry to do their duty and shame the people needlessly parking in handicap spots.

    Just say something politely, while asking them to smile for the rest of the world as you video them.

    C'mon offenders... do you want to break Grandma's heart? Or hip?

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Tue, Jun 22, 2021, at 6:51 PM
  • dreadpirateroberts: Good to see a post from you, I was thinking you had moved away or something.

    -- Posted by Workingthesoil on Tue, Jun 22, 2021, at 8:10 PM
  • I myself have a handicap sticker which I do not use unless needed. Is an officer suppose to sit in every business parking lot to verify the person parked there is a legit handicap person? I have major COPD issues and sometimes it is difficult for me to get into a store. I have no visible signs of impairment. How is the officer to know I’m legit or not? I feel as my handicap sticker is a privilege and if I need a spot and can’t find one I try to go elsewhere or come back later

    -- Posted by Nit on Tue, Jun 22, 2021, at 8:24 PM
  • And here I thought we had the freedom to park in any spot we wanted to park in. Hmmm. Somethings amiss here. Or is it?

    -- Posted by Koios on Tue, Jun 22, 2021, at 8:51 PM
  • My husband has back issues, these can't be seen. I have issues with my knees that flare up occasionally. This can't be seen either. They are issues that can't be seen. So, attacking everyone that looks normal, that parks in a handicap stop is not a good idea.

    -- Posted by vicki.oliver on Wed, Jun 23, 2021, at 7:11 AM
  • Not only enforce the handicap parking abuse but what about parking in fire lanes? So many times I see vehicles parked and the driver is sitting there waiting for someone to come from inside the store. I am a firm believer in rules and laws are made for a reason and we are to abide by them!

    -- Posted by damarbar58 on Wed, Jun 23, 2021, at 11:17 AM
  • Does Greencastle still have a "meter maid ?" If so maybe he/she should spend some time each week checking handicap spots. Each handicap permit has a bar code that tells who is the legit owner. Other cities have as much as a three hundred dollar fine for not only parking in the spot but if the legit owner is not with the vehicle .

    -- Posted by Workingthesoil on Wed, Jun 23, 2021, at 12:46 PM
  • While I agree that people without a disability should not be parking in those designated spaces, it is really non of anyone's business what that person's "Ailment" is. There is such thing called privacy and no one has to give their personal medical history to anyone who asks, just as those with a service pet, you can't just ask someone what the animal is for just because YOU don't believe they have a disability. Again, not being the bad guy here, just being realistic.

    -- Posted by putcoresident84 on Thu, Jun 24, 2021, at 7:52 AM
  • Walk around the square and in some spots you cannot get a wheelchair on the sidewalk. Its cluttered with tables for outdoor eating. That's wrong.

    -- Posted by Keepyaguessin on Sat, Jun 26, 2021, at 9:20 AM
  • I live in a private area in Cynthiana Indiana and there is a man who parks in the handicap park every evening to visit his girlfriend...neither one has a placard..dispatch say there is nothing they can do because its private property..they said the manager is responsible..Well the manager is friends with them..so whats next??? Will someone get intouch with the media and ask them why this happening and why isnt he enforcing the handicap law..

    -- Posted by eaj123 on Tue, Nov 28, 2023, at 6:09 PM
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