Cal State May Provide More Parking for Disabled

Officials at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson said Thursday that they will consider providing additional parking for disabled students in an attempt to resolve a heated debate over limited parking and where they are allowed to park their vehicles.

In recent months, campus police have been issuing tickets to disabled students who they allege are breaking the law by parking in loading zones, fire zones and visitor and reserved spaces. Police said they began the crackdown this year because too many students were using their DMV-issued disabled parking placards to park in restricted areas.

Disabled students have argued that state law allows them to park in any space that is open to use by the public for an unlimited time period, including loading zones, visitor and metered parking. The students contend that the university doesn’t have enough disabled parking stalls and that parking enforcement officers are violating the Americans With Disabilities Act in continuing to issue tickets.

“They have been very insensitive to disabled people,” said Jackie Steve, a graduate student with degenerative disc disease. “They think we’re so lucky because we get to park close to the building. They don’t understand that a lot of us can’t walk that far. . . . They need to be more sensitive to the problems we’re having.”

Mark Cartwright, parking manager for the university, said the university has more disabled parking spaces than required by law.