9/23/2003
By: Erin Ochoa
News 8 Austin

Parking can be a hassle on a busy day, but for a disabled driver, it can be a downright challenge.

A News 8 viewer contacted us about a handicapped parking awareness program in Travis County that’s been around for eight years.

"I was in a car accident back in January of ’91," said Clarence Holt of the injury that left him paralyzed. As the Travis County handicapped parking coordinator, he knows firsthand how hard parking for the disabled can be.

"On rainy days or cold days like that, everybody wants to park up front because they see these spots are available. They’re not understanding that they’re taking it away from a person that has got a disability," Holt said.

Holt, along with about 30 volunteers, patrols parking lots each week and writes tickets to a thousand drivers each year for parking illegally in handicapped spots.

If you’re caught parking illegally in handicapped spaces, tickets will cost about $250 plus court costs for the first offense and more than $500 for the second offense. He also makes sure businesses comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"I kind of see it as the civil rights issue for this generation because, for a disabled person, if the parking spot’s not there, and if the curb cut’s not there and if the door’s not wide enough, they don’t get to shop at the same places we do," said Bruce Elfant, Travis County constable, Prec. 5.

In 1995, the Handicapped Parking Enforcement Program was the first of its kind in the state. Since then, others have followed, but the goal hasn’t changed much. Neither has the problem.

"A lot of people say, ‘Well, I was only in there for a minute and all these spaces are empty,’ " Elfant said.

After Holt issues up to 10 tickets in a day, he heads back to his office, and uses this customized computer to finish the job.

And though he seems to have found a way around the hurdles in his life, he, and his crew, will continue to spend their days making sure other handicapped drivers will find their place in parking lots all over Travis County.

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