Parking law for the disabled covers commercial vehicles

Question: I’ve noticed a lunch wagon with a handicapped-parking permit parked in a metered stall for free. I’ve also seen a big yellow school bus parked in a metered stall with a handicap permit and a taxi with a handicap permit waiting in a metered stall. They’re parking for free. Is this allowed?

Answer: The disability law does not restrict the use of disabled-parking placards to noncommercial vehicles.

We explained previously that the placard is issued to an individual, not to a company.

“There are many valid reasons why a commercial vehicle would be legitimately carrying a person with a disability, so we did not want to cut them out,” explained Francine Wai, executive director of the state Disability and Communications Access Board.

While the school bus and taxicab situations appear to clearly be “wrong” and “not the intent of the law,” Wai said they are not a violation of the disabled-parking statute.

“It may be something that we need to work on in the future to tighten up the loophole,” she said.

The lunch wagon parking may be another matter. However, you did not leave any contact information so we could get details, such as a license plate number. A city official said the lunch wagon may be violating lunch truck rules of operation.

Question: We have a concrete utility cover in the middle of our sidewalk that is cracking, and the concrete around the edges crumbling. This is becoming a walking hazard. We are not sure if it’s telephone or cable, but it appears to be cable. Whom do we contact to fix this hazard?

Answer: Oceanic Time Warner Cable immediately checked the site and determined the utility cover belonged to Hawaiian Telcom.

Hawaiian Telcom, in turn, immediately replaced the broken cover. However, it flagged the area with a safety cone until the concrete repair work could be completed, said spokes­woman Ann Nishida Fry.

Hawaiian Telcom thanks you for pinpointing the exact location and taking photos, “which are very helpful,” she said.

In the future, issues like this can be reported to Hawaiian Telcom by calling its 24-hour Center at 611 or 643-6111 on a non-Hawaiian Telcom phone.

“A good description of the problem, street address and photos are greatly appreciated,” Nishida Fry added.

Mahalo

To a bus driver. I boarded a No. 2 bus on Ena Road and Kalakaua Avenue at 11:45 a.m. Jan. 21 to go to a doctor’s appointment. It was standing room only, but I was given a seat by a kind gentleman. Several stops later a wheelchair occupant waited to board. I stood up with the aid of my cane and my loving daughter, since I was seated in the wheelchair section. I attempted to balance myself. My daughter, sensing my apprehension, held on to me tightly and said, “I will never, ever let you fall.” Thus assured, I relaxed a brief moment until she added, “However, I may cause you to sustain a dislocated arm and shoulder” in the process, because we were so precariously standing. I had visions of sailing through the bus and landing on someone’s lap. I was terrified and showed it. The bus driver, an attractive woman with beautiful coiffed hair decorated with blossoms, stepped toward me, studied the situation and said politely, “Auntie, please sit down.” She then turned to the wheelchair occupant outside, apologized and explained the situation. Everyone seemed happy with her explanation. I hope the bus driver will read this and know that we, the public, are grateful for how she dealt with the situation, averting what could have been chaos. — Grateful and Pleased Bus Rider

“Mahalo for your letter of thanks,” said Michelle Kennedy, spokes­woman for Oahu Transit Services, which operates the city’s bus system.

She said the bus operator, Tai­mane Stevens, has been driving TheBus with “the spirit of aloha” for nearly 29 years.

“We have shared your letter of appreciation with her, and she was happy to hear that you had a positive experience on her bus,”Kennedy said.

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.