WESTFIELD – The Traffic Commission, which is an advisory board to the City Council, is considering a request from the Commission for Citizens with Disabilities to establish dedicated on-street handicap parking in the city CORE district.
The Americans with Disabilities Act not only mandates handicapped parking facilities in off-street lots, but it dictates the number and placement of those spaces, as well as associated facilities such as access isles.
“The design requirement of parking lots facilities is very clear,” Traffic Commissioner Brian Boldini, who has been researching the issue, said, “but ADA regulations are pretty silent for the design of on-street handicapped parking. Would an access isle be required?”
“It would be a no-brainer if we had angle-in parking because you could designate a space with an access isle,” Boldini said. “Would it open the city to liability if we are inviting people with handicap placards to park on the street? I’m not opposed to doing it, but I want to do it right, not just come up with some design on our own.”
Madeline Nicoletti of the Commission for Citizens with Disabilities said that most cities have on-street handicap parking and that Jeffrey L. Dougan, assistant director for community service of the Massachusetts Office on Disability, recently provided that agency’s recommendation which calls for 5 percent on on-street parking spaces be reserved for citizens with disabilities.
Dougan, who attended the Commission for Citizen with Disabilities meeting earlier this week, recommended those spaces be located near sidewalk curb cuts or sidewalk bump-outs.
Nicoletti said the distance from off-street parking lot to downtown businesses, and the condition of many sidewalks, is a barrier to many residents with mobility disabilities. The on-street parking would give better access to the residents.
The two board discussed the design of the on-street parking, which is complicated by the fact that there are a number of handicap-van designs with ramps that open to both the right and left side of the van, as well as those which open to the rear. The height of curbs is also a critical concern for the ramps to open properly. Curbs too high just bump the ramp back to a starting position; curbs too low create too steep an angle for a wheelchair to safely descend.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti, a member of the Traffic Commission said “I’d appreciate more direction” and that just designating handicapped spaces randomly reduces the parking available in an area where parking is at a premium.
Off-street parking director Denise Carey said the state Legislature has been working to develop guidelines, but that the issue has been in committee for several years.
“Would the city be in violation if we put in those (locally designed) spaces before the state guideline comes out?” Carey asked.
Boldini said another issue is that there are no time limits on handicapped parking.
“It’s a first come, first served situation,” Boldini said. “There is no time limit for a motor vehicle with a (handicap) placard, so someone could take up that space for the entire day.”
Boldini made a motion to seek further information from the Engineering and Law departments and from the state Office on Disability “so we do it correctly” before recommending action on the issue to the City Council.
