Illegal use of disabled parking on the rise

Parking enforcers from the Department of Transportation Services report that motorists are illegally grabbing parking spots reserved for drivers with disabilities at a record pace.

Even though the violation fee doubled to $200 per infraction Sept. 1, parking enforcers slip those yellow envelopes under windshields dozens of times each week.

From July 1 through Sept. 30, parking enforcers issued citations 158 times to vehicles illegally parking in spots reserved for vehicles with disabled permits.

During the past fiscal year, (July 1- June 30), 518 citations were issued. The number of illegal parkers is rising: During the same period the previous year, 334 envelopes were issued, and the year before that 279 were issued.

Lot 5 on Bascom Hill holds the dubious distinction for the highest number of violations: 30 between July 1 and Sept. 30. Second place, with 28 citations, went to Lot 63 near the Clinical Sciences Center.

And it’s not just visitors or students late for class who are parking illegally. Transportation Services reports that some cars and trucks from the UW fleet also have been cited.

Here are a few reminders about the use and abuse of spots for disabled permits:

• Accessible stalls are reserved for DIS permits or plates only.
• There are two types of accessible stalls: Those with a symbol of accessibility on the sign and those that are marked “UW DIS only.”
• Accessible stalls are reserved 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• UW vehicles are not entitled to use accessible stalls without a DIS permit or plates.
• Illegal parking costs $200 per violation.
• Violators may be towed.
• Student repeat offenders may be subject to non-academic discipline, and employees also may be subject to discipline
• Misuse of DIS permits can result in $100 fine and cancellation of permit.