COLORADO SPRINGS — When it comes to handicapped parking spots, doing the right thing is leaving them for people with disabilities.
Too often that is not happening in Colorado Springs
“We shouldn’t have to be writing that many tickets,” said Disabled Parking Enforcement Unit, Volunteer, Roger McFarland.
Members of the Disabled Parking Enforcement Unit are volunteers who are authorized by the Colorado Springs Police Chief to issue citations as special officers.
“With the authority to enforce city ordinances on disabled parking violations, parking too close to a fire hydrant, and blocking a sidewalk,” said Unit Member, Bernie Herpin.
The unit mainly focuses on disabled parking violations.
“Our daily record, that I’ve written has been 33 tickets in one day,” said McFarland.
For all of 2023, the Disabled Parking Enforcement Unit wrote 917 violations for vehicles with no handicap placard.
There was another 687 for vehicles with expired placards.
So far in 2024 close to 400 citations have been written.
People with disabilities who need parking spots are grateful for the patrols.
“We do hear thanks for doing that,” said Herpin, “Occasionally we’ll get cursed out by somebody who got a ticket, [who says] ‘I was just in for a minute.’ It gets a $350 ticket. So, that’s a costly minute.”
Unit members offer a caution to vehicle owners with Disabled Veteran plates.
The DV in the center of the plate is not the same as a handicap plate and does not qualify for disabled parking spots.
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