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I used to care for a man with quadriplegia as a care assistant for about a year. It made me realize a lot of things with disability parking. Everything took 5x

I used to care for a man with quadriplegia as a care assistant for about a year. It made me realize a lot of things with disability parking. Everything took 5x as long, handicap spots were hard to find, and you can forget taking a train if you want to do anything else that day. The wheelchair van was his lifeline to the rest of the world. So from that, I'm personally against banning cars in city centers for that reason. It wouldn't be too difficult to restrict roads to handicap placard drivers and a limited number of commercial vehicles. You'd just need a lot of cops and parking enforcers (not bad for job creation!) And, while I'm no road engineer, I imagine the results would be a large drop in car traffic, and very little infra to build to make it happen. You can even just block off certain roads and turn them into pedestrian only spaces.

forgotusername6 4y ago
Parking and lane enforcement can and should be automated. The disabled status is linked to the license plate and driving on the wrong road with that status leads to an automatic fine. In the UK we already have automatic fines for speeding, jumping lights, stopping in a no stop zone, using a bus lane, not paying a toll. This is no different.
- spicybright 4y ago
  Fair, but infrastructure is notoriously hard to build in the US. The US disabled status works different here too. You're only given disability privileges while in a car with your own handicap placard in the window (it's assigned to a person) I actually like this a lot better than a plate because it's trivial to know if someone in the car actually needs a spot or not, and discourages use of the car by friends/family that don't qualify for using the (often limited) access to handicap spots. Also allows you to drive any car and still get the same privileges.
ch4s3 4y ago
I'm clearly not opposed to special accommodations for people who need vans and other special transport. I don't think it's a good argument for the status quo though. It's possible to restrict most private vehicles from a city center and still allow things like vans the disabled. Obviously there is tension here around pedestrian only streets, but making sidewalks more accessible to electric wheelchairs seems very doable.

forgotusername6 4y ago

Parking and lane enforcement can and should be automated. The disabled status is linked to the license plate and driving on the wrong road with that status leads to an automatic fine. In the UK we already have automatic fines for speeding, jumping lights, stopping in a no stop zone, using a bus lane, not paying a toll. This is no different.

spicybright 4y ago
Fair, but infrastructure is notoriously hard to build in the US. The US disabled status works different here too. You're only given disability privileges while in a car with your own handicap placard in the window (it's assigned to a person) I actually like this a lot better than a plate because it's trivial to know if someone in the car actually needs a spot or not, and discourages use of the car by friends/family that don't qualify for using the (often limited) access to handicap spots. Also allows you to drive any car and still get the same privileges.

ch4s3 4y ago

I'm clearly not opposed to special accommodations for people who need vans and other special transport. I don't think it's a good argument for the status quo though. It's possible to restrict most private vehicles from a city center and still allow things like vans the disabled. Obviously there is tension here around pedestrian only streets, but making sidewalks more accessible to electric wheelchairs seems very doable.