Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 27, 1990 TAG: 9006270509
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Several City Council members favor the $100 fine, but they have delayed action on the issue for two weeks until city officials can talk with the Mayor's Committee for the Handicapped.
Some council members think a large fine would be a financial and psychological deterrent to non-handicapped motorists parking in handicapped spaces.
Currently, the fine for parking in handicapped spaces on city streets is $5, and $25 for spaces in shopping centers and other private property.
City Attorney Wilburn Dibling has recommended a $25 fine for violations on the streets so the penalty would be the same on both public and private property.
But handicapped advocates say a large fine is needed to deter non-handicapped motorists from parking in handicapped spaces.
"We need something that will have a bite. A $25 fine is not enough," one speaker told council this week.
Handicapped advocates have urged council to approve either a $100 fine or a progressive fine system: $50 for the first violation, $75 for the second violation and $100 for the third.
But city officials said progressive fines could be difficult to enforce because police officers who ticket illegal parkers would have no way to know immediately whether the violation was the first, second or third.
They said officers would need the information so they could include the amount of the fine on the parking ticket. Motorists can pay parking tickets by mail.
Council appeared ready to approve the $100 fine earlier this week, but Councilman David Bowers said motorists should be made aware of the amount.
"I'll go along with $100 if the amount of the fine is printed on handicapped signs so people will know what it is," he said.
Motorists who park in handicapped spaces should have to pay a large fine, he said, "but if we are going from $5 to $100, I'd feel more comfortable if people knew about it." Bowers, a lawyer, said there are two sides to every story.
If the fine is too high, Dibling said, private property owners might eliminate the handicapped spaces because they are afraid of losing customers who are ticketed for parking in handicapped spaces.
Mayor Noel Taylor suggested that council might "be getting carried away with a $100 fine" and that a smaller amount might be a deterrent.
Under state law, Dibling said a fine for violations can be imposed only at spaces where there are 4-foot-high signs designating them for handicapped parking. It cannot be imposed on handicapped spaces that are marked only on the pavement without signs.
The city could put information about the fine on signs for handicapped parking spaces on streets and other public property, but could not require private property owners to include it on their signs, he said.
by CNB