Having an electric car isn’t a license to park anywhere
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / NOV. 13, 2012
State Energy Office Electric Vehicle Program director Margaret Larson showed off an EV charging station at the State Capitol.
SCOTT MORISHIGE
A homeless man and woman who had been living on the pedestrian island at the intersection of Ala Moana Boulevard and Atkinson Drive left the site early Friday, a state official said. A state highways crew quickly removed debris that had been left behind.
Question: I had knee surgery recently and got a temporary placard allowing me to park in handicapped stalls. I have noticed that a lot of people who have hybrid cars are parking in handicapped stalls, even though they don’t have a placard. Is that OK?
Q: I’m noticing more and more electric vehicles parking in the disability parking spaces at the mall and other locations. Sometimes the disability parking spaces are next to the EV spaces that have electric chargers, but I didn’t think they were interchangeable. Are they?
Answer: No and no.
“Having an electric vehicle does not convey any privilege to park in a stall reserved for a person with a disability unless the driver/rider also has a disabled person parking placard,” said Francine Wai, executive director of the state Department of Health’s Disability and Communication Access Board.
State law does require a specific number of stalls reserved for EVs in parking lots over a certain size; this count is separate from the number of parking spaces required to be accessible to drivers and passengers with disabilities.
“There is a requirement for EV stalls to be accessible,” Wai said, but they need not be reserved solely for disabled motorists and passengers. The EV stalls are marked with the green EV sign, not the familiar wheelchair logo (usually blue and white) that is the international symbol of accessibility. “This is to prevent people with a disabled person parking permit from mistakenly parking in an EV stall if they do not have an EV,” Wai explained.
Accessible parking stalls for people with disabilities are required to be near the entrance of a facility, while EV stalls are not. “They need to be near a power source, which is often adjacent to a building, but not near the entrance,” Wai noted. “In fact, since an EV often takes a long time to charge, using a prime real estate spot near the entrance is often not good customer service because the stall can be occupied for a long time without turnover.”
You can find more information in DCAB’s pamphlet “How to Design an Accessible Parking Space,” which covers federal and state requirements for disability parking and also includes a few details (on Page 6) about electric vehicle charging stations and adjacent parking spaces. You can see the pamphlet at 808ne.ws/2at2GQh.
“The bottom line is that you can park in an accessible parking space only if you have a permit. You can park in an EV stall only if you are in an EV,” Wai said. “A person who has a disabled person parking permit and who also has or rides in an EV can park in both, but for different reasons.”
Update
The pedestrian island at Atkinson Drive and Ala Moana Boulevard was cleaned up Friday, the state coordinator on homelessness confirmed. Scott Morishige said that a homeless man and woman decided on their own to relocate very early Friday, after consistent outreach by social service agencies over the past few weeks. Another man who had been living there entered an emergency shelter the previous week, at the urging of outreach workers, he said. Later Friday morning a crew with the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s Highways Division “noticed during a routine inspection … that the area was abandoned and conducted cleanup operations in the area to remove remaining trash and debris,” Morishige said. The situation was the subject of Kokua Line columns last week, based on questions from concerned readers.
Mahalo
Thank you to Kona International Airport’s security officers and first responders who came to our son’s aid when he became very ill on the Fourth of July. Thank you also to Hawaiian Airlines for recognizing our situation and arranging for an expedited flight home to Oahu. We are forever grateful to all of you for your professional action and assistance. — Thankful Mom and Dad
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19 responses to “Having an electric car isn’t a license to park anywhere”
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My pet peeve today is about pet dogs “cra __g” on my sidewalk grass area! Most owners who walk their pets are very responsible and pick up these droppings. But,there are pet owners who let their dogs out from their homes in the evening, to roam the neighborhood. What can homeowners do to discourage these pets from doing this?
Put up signs that dogs can understand like “Keep off the grrrass.”
Pedestrian island vacancy – available for 1 or 2 day stays; first come, first served.
The first question was about hybrids, not electric cars. There is a difference in where each is allowed to park.
There is a loop hole for hybrid cars. Some gas/electric hybrid cars besides having a gas nozzle receiver to take in gas also has an electric charging port to charge the battery in the hybrid car. In Hawaii they are considered electric vehicles and receive the EV license plate. They really should not be considered an electric vehicle with an EV license plate because it still uses a gasoline engine.
What gets me is that disabled stalls are to be located closest to the facility they serve. But when EV came about, they insisted that they have the prime spot and many disabled stalls were moved to a less desirable location. Actually, I think this is a violation of ADA policy.
I’ve noticed that too. Many stalls that were previously reserved for the disabled have been converted into electric vehicle stalls. I do not understand why the EV stalls have to take up spaces close to the building entry, which really should be for the disabled.
Agree. Why are businesses allowed to displace disabled stalls with EV ones? I’ve seen that near some stores.
Parking lot design has a lot to do with it. Probably easier to abide by the law when building new. For example, Whole Foods Kailua (open 3 years now) has only handicapped stalls (6?) in front connected to building lanai. EV stalls in main parking lot far from the handicapped stalls, so no confusion there. Target Kailua (open a year or so?) has handicapped stalls only in front of building and EV stalls along the side of the building. Again not anywhere near handicapped stalls.
Update to the previous Update: As of right now the pedestrian island at Atkinson Drive and Ala Moana Boulevard is back to a campsite with several occupants.
Heard that on the news. Maybe time to bust out the sledgehammer again?
Take some pictures and post them to show proof.
Sure, what could go wrong!
your homeless coordinator Scott Morishige isn’t very good at his job. Tell your supreme leader Ige to consider hiring someone with some actual human services training and experience next time.
Electric cars park where they are supposed to. Handicapped stalls are for new Porsches, Maseratis, Range Rovers, Escalades, and Jags.
I guess that excludes me from either category. Just an non-handicapped (who doesn’t mind long distance parking and walking with an humble internal combustion engine. Sigh…:)
I’ve seen a bunch of gas guzzlers parked in the EV stalls at Costco. On the other hand, I’ve seen disabled stall abuses that have nothing to do with EV. I’ve seen young healthy (young) adults get out of cars that park in the disabled stalls. Wanna bet they’re using their parent’s or relative’s placard? Who is checking on them?
No one really…it reliant on social consciousness…which I find lacking with the new social order.
It’s the entitlement mentality. Changes from privilege to abuse. We see it everyday when our tax dollars are taken advantage of