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Old 11-23-2013, 05:41 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 48,814,423 times
Reputation: 9477

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Most vehicles with chair lifts have them on the right hand side, in which case almost all parallel parking spaces on the right hand side of a street, next to a sidewalk is capable of serving as a handicapped parking space. The chair lift simply deposits the rider on the sidewalk instead of on a wheel chair aisle. Most people do not know that a vehicle with a handicapped tag can park at any parking space for free, so all they need to do is find one that suits their vehicle, which is the majority of them downtown.
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Old 12-06-2013, 02:39 AM
 
440 posts, read 710,431 times
Reputation: 266
There's also a difference between *reserved* parking for handicapped persons and the ability to park without charge in a metered space. It can be very difficult to find on-street parking downtown and the entire point of handicapped parking is proximity to one's destination.
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Old 12-06-2013, 07:25 AM
 
912 posts, read 1,276,831 times
Reputation: 1143
Quote:
Originally Posted by CptnRn View Post
Most vehicles with chair lifts have them on the right hand side, in which case almost all parallel parking spaces on the right hand side of a street, next to a sidewalk is capable of serving as a handicapped parking space. The chair lift simply deposits the rider on the sidewalk instead of on a wheel chair aisle. Most people do not know that a vehicle with a handicapped tag can park at any parking space for free, so all they need to do is find one that suits their vehicle, which is the majority of them downtown.
Doesn't reverse angle parking interfere with that? I thought that was expanding downtown soon. Sounds like a map would be helpful for handicapped parkers.
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Old 07-10-2018, 09:44 AM
 
11 posts, read 23,107 times
Reputation: 45
I would love a map of handicapped parking in downtown Austin. This is an old thread so maybe by now, a map has been created? I have to go to a place on South Congress tomorrow and don’t want to drive around aimlessly and end up having to walk a long way. If there are handicap spots down there, they aren’t very obvious!
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Old 07-10-2018, 04:12 PM
 
Location: Round Rock, Texas
12,860 posts, read 13,159,249 times
Reputation: 13814
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pameladeville View Post
I would love a map of handicapped parking in downtown Austin. This is an old thread so maybe by now, a map has been created? I have to go to a place on South Congress tomorrow and don’t want to drive around aimlessly and end up having to walk a long way. If there are handicap spots down there, they aren’t very obvious!
Ahem..... post #4 from March 8, 2013:

Quote:
Originally Posted by CptnRn View Post
If you have a disabled hang tag or license plate you can park at any metered parking space for free in the City of Austin.
Still valid today.
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Old 04-18-2019, 07:19 AM
 
1 posts, read 672 times
Reputation: 11
Default If you’re not mobility impaired, you probably don’t get it

I use a wheelchair. I have a van that opens on the side and lets out a little ramp. It often doesn’t work to try to open the ramp onto a curbed sidewalk. My wheelchair, though powered, like many wheelchairs, doesn’t cope well with obstacles or even mile hills most pedestrians wouldn’t notice. Battery life is also an issue if one has to park from the destination. If you are in a wheelchair, drivers often don’t see you in a situation in which they would see a pedestrian.

Angled parking spaces don’t work for my van ramp. I need three feet beyond the ramp to get out.

South Congress Avenue parking was redesigned, and I can’t find a single van-accessible parking space for blocks. Someone told me they were placed on side streets. So now I am supposed to turn down every side street looking for parking, without even knowing if there is a handicap space down the side street or not.

This is an old post, but one respondent keeps stubbornly restating that you can park in any space for free with handicap placard or plates. That is a perfect illustration of how much most able-bodied people don’t get it. True this can be helpful at times, but not when most parking spaces are full, nor when one is in a van.

Austin should really have an electronic map of handicap parking, and especially can parking spaces. In such a “progressive” modern city, I find it absurd that such a treasure doesn’t exist. The only reason it doesn’t is because the mobility-impaired public is a very small and non-organized sector of the public.
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Old 04-18-2019, 08:34 AM
 
7,742 posts, read 15,030,602 times
Reputation: 4295
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dionysis78749 View Post
I use a wheelchair. I have a van that opens on the side and lets out a little ramp. It often doesn’t work to try to open the ramp onto a curbed sidewalk. My wheelchair, though powered, like many wheelchairs, doesn’t cope well with obstacles or even mile hills most pedestrians wouldn’t notice. Battery life is also an issue if one has to park from the destination. If you are in a wheelchair, drivers often don’t see you in a situation in which they would see a pedestrian.

Angled parking spaces don’t work for my van ramp. I need three feet beyond the ramp to get out.

South Congress Avenue parking was redesigned, and I can’t find a single van-accessible parking space for blocks. Someone told me they were placed on side streets. So now I am supposed to turn down every side street looking for parking, without even knowing if there is a handicap space down the side street or not.

This is an old post, but one respondent keeps stubbornly restating that you can park in any space for free with handicap placard or plates. That is a perfect illustration of how much most able-bodied people don’t get it. True this can be helpful at times, but not when most parking spaces are full, nor when one is in a van.

Austin should really have an electronic map of handicap parking, and especially can parking spaces. In such a “progressive” modern city, I find it absurd that such a treasure doesn’t exist. The only reason it doesn’t is because the mobility-impaired public is a very small and non-organized sector of the public.
Instead of complaining, why dont you do the work to make one?
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Old 04-18-2019, 08:55 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,232 posts, read 35,410,327 times
Reputation: 8566
I dunno, seems exactly how I try to find parking downtown - zig-zag down all the streets until I find a spot....
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