
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990                   TAG: 9007130685
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BACKS BOOSTING FINE FOR PARKING MISUSE

AS A MEMBER of Paralyzed Veterans of America and a local spinal-cord-injury group, I support the raising of the fine for misuse of handicapped parking spaces.

I find the statements of the mayor and the city attorney ironic. These people represent Roanoke, the All-American City. As such, they should be in the forefront, fighting for the rights of all people. They should be considering the limited amount of handicapped parking spaces that are wide enough to use with a lift.

Because of the level of my paralysis, this is my only means of transportation. The only spaces that I have found marked wide enough for a lift are at Valley View Mall.

The mayor is quoted as saying that the council "might be getting carried away with a $100 fine." This is not a question of the fine a person can afford but rather a deterrent to able-bodied people who find it difficult to pass a vacant parking space near an entrance.

The city attorney's statement about private property owners eliminating spaces is a ridiculous threat, since they don't make any effort to enforce the restrictions by calling police, even when told.

DANILE T. MARLAR\ GOODVIEW

by CNB