You can park in some handicapped spaces with near-impunity.
Doesn’t seem to square with common knowledge, but it’s true.
State law — specifically, General Statute 20-37.6 — which states the law applies to “public vehicular areas,” meaning other references in the law to private property (like a shopping center parking lot) fall into a gray area.
“On public property, you have to have your decal, painted on the ground, and you also have to have a sign,” Kinston Department of Public Safety Director Bill Johnson said. “On private property, you do not have to do that. So, we can’t enforce that on private property.”
When people are reported to improperly occupying a handicapped space on a private lot, they’re encouraged to park elsewhere.
“We generally just go in and say ‘you can’t park here,’ ” Johnson said. “People generally don’t get upset. But we can’t point out they’re illegally parked if the signage is not there.”
A cursory check of Kinston shopping center parking lots showed not every handicapped spot is treated equally. At the Plaza Shopping Center, some spots are marked with a painted logo and a sign, but others only have the logo.
Tuesday morning, a man drove out of a spot in front of the Piggly Wiggly that is hard to recognize has a handicapped spot while occupied.
Elneta Jones, parked in a spot clearly marked with paint and a sign, said she’s generally able to find a space open.
“I’m lucky. I try to go at a time, though, when I know that it’s less crowded,” Jones said.
Another woman, who parked at a spot with a sign but wished not to be named, said most of the time parking’s not a problem.
“I look for one, I sure do, and sometimes I find it,” she said.
The case at Plaza also holds true for the shopping center containing the North Herritage Street Food Lion, and Vernon Park Mall. The parking lot of Walmart on U.S. 70 proved to be the outlier, with signs and bright paint at every spot.
In essence, failure to provide proper signage on private property amounts to a building code violation in the places where such signage is required.
“If it’s left up to the private owner, they can do it or not do it,” said Vicki Smith, executive director of Disability Rights North Carolina. “Some private owners are much better at understanding it’s in their best interest to reach out and provide accommodation to people with disabilities.”
Smith said a problem in making sure what parking spaces there are aren’t taken up by people who don’t fit the legal definition of handicapped.
“There’s no entity that goes out and monitors proactively,” Smith said. “There’s no mechanism for proactive monitoring that, really.”
Cities can pass ordinances to encourage parity. Fayetteville issued statement in September 2012 requiring businesses in the city to comply with the state definition of proper signage, and that city police would begin enforcement after 45 days.
Kinston requires compliance with the minimum accessibility regulations contained in the State Building Code, which sets the number of required handicapped spaces per type of development.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.