Mitchell claims handicap parking signs hard to see

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

After receiving a ticket for parking in this East Main Street handicap space last week, Dave Mitchell will contest it in court on the grounds that it is not marked according to federal standards. (Will Stewart photo)

To hear Dave Mitchell tell it, it’s fee grabbing on the part of the city. He doesn’t dispute that he illegally parked in an East Main Street handicap space, but he doesn’t believe he should have to pay over $200 for doing so if the city’s handicapped signage has poor visibility and does not meet federal standards.

“It was an honest mistake. I didn’t see it was a handicapped,” said Mitchell. “If I did it on purpose, I wouldn’t be here at all right now. I want to do what’s right, but I don’t want to be railroaded. I can pay the ticket and the court costs, but it’s a matter of principal.”

But McMinnville Police captain Bryan Denton said it’s more a matter of awareness.

“I went and looked at it and I think it’s reasonable to assume a person who is aware of their surroundings would know they were in a handicap zone,” Denton said.

Mitchell was cited last Monday for illegally parking in a handicap space on the corner of East Main and Spring streets, directly in front of Foster and Foster Realty. His main argument against the ticket lies in the height, or lack thereof, of the sign designating the space to be for the handicapped only. The sign, which is attached to a nearby light pole, is too low to the ground and cannot be seen when approaching the space if other vehicles are parked along the road behind it, Mitchell claims.

“Federal standards say that in this situation the bottom of the placard should be at least 84 inches from the ground. This one is only 70-and-a-half inches,” he said. When a large vehicle is parked directly behind the space, he added, one can’t see the sign when pulling into the space.

Denton noted that, to his knowledge, no other motorist has ever had trouble noticing the designations, but that McMinnville Public Works director Bill Brock will be looking into the matter and that it will be corrected if the sign is indeed too low.

In his complaints, Mitchell also noted the wheelchair logo painted inside the space is faded and does nothing to catch one’s eye. He said it is his understanding that by law the city does not even have to paint a logo inside the space, but since it did, it ought to make it visible. He suggested painting it blue and yellow, similar to other handicap spaces around town.

Mitchell said he plans to contest the ticket when he goes to court on Monday. In the meantime he said he has applied for and received a handicap parking permit.

“I could have gotten it five years ago for my shattered heel which I’ve had two major surgeries on. I figured I would leave those spaces for people who needed them more than I did,” he said. “But if I’m going to have to pay $237.50 to park in that spot, I’m going to own it.”