Dana Littmann
Features Editor
dmlittmann@valdosta.edu

I’m a handicapped student, and on Monday I was given a $110 ticket for “blocking” a disabled parking spot.
As you can probably understand, I was pretty upset when I got this ticket. When I went to the Parking and Transportation Department, the employee I spoke with told me that the department has started ticketing these spaces in order to weed out members of the VSU community who are using disabled tags and hangers illegally.
While I agree that the illegal use of these items is a problem that needs to be taken care of, there has to be a better way to do it, not to mention it’s a little late in the semester to start dealing with this problem. There are only three weeks left before finals. This problem really should have been taken care of at the beginning of the semester.
One of the problems with this current system is that it seems the department is currently ticketing the people who are legally allowed to be in handicapped spots. Now, these people are receiving a fine, of at least $100, which they will have to appeal. This is not only an inconvenience, it’s an insult.
Not only did I have to take the time to go over to the Parking and Transportation Department, I couldn’t get it taken care of right away. I had to wait for the Parking and Transportation Department to review my appeal. I was also told by two different Parking and Transportation Department employees that it might take over a week for my ticket to be reviewed.
Thankfully, my appeal was processed yesterday, and the fine was removed from my account. But I had to find other places to park until I was sure I was allowed to park in handicapped spots, or risk being issued another ticket.
While it is important that the Parking and Transportation Department finds out who is and who is not allowed to park in handicapped parking, there are better ways of going about it. In my opinion, one way they can fix the immediate problem is to write down the parking pass numbers of the cars parked in handicapped spaces and then contact those people. Once they have contacted the people who match those permit numbers they can request that those people bring in the proper documentation. If the people who are called in cannot present the proper documentation, then they should be issued a ticket.
Having these people bring in their documentation will keep a lot of people from being inconvenienced.
This solution will only handle the problem for a little while. In order to combat this problem in the future, the Parking and Transportation Department should give handicapped students, faculty, and staff a different colored decal that allows them to park in handicapped parking. This solution will allow the Parking and Transportation Department to request that these people bring their documentation with them when they pay for their parking permit.
The Parking and Transportation Department is working to help the disabled members of the VSU community and that is commendable; however, there is a better way of helping them than giving them all tickets.