Kokua Line: Disability parking placard required at certain EV charging stations

Question: I was wondering what the rule is when a parking stall is designated for both handicapped and electric vehicle charging. I have an electric vehicle but not a handicap placard. Can I use that parking stall?

Answer: No, if by “designated” you mean that a sign marked the space as reserved for people with disabilities. Francine Wai, executive director of the state’s Disability and Communications Access Board, explains:

“The short answer is that a vehicle must both have a placard and be an EV vehicle” if a sign at the charging station marks the space as reserved for people with disabilities. “However, in many situations the stalls do not have to be reserved for persons with disabilities, although they may need to be designed to accommodate a larger vehicle with an access aisle.”

“In addition there is another factor: There is a distinction between a parking stall and a charging station, because a parking stall can be without a charger and just be a priority parking stall according to our rules. You are not supposed to be ‘parking’ in a charging station unless you are actively charging (like filling up your car with gas), although that is often hard to distinguish, because people leave their car there while shopping or working.”

In a follow-up phone call, Wai explained that the rules require a minimum number of parking stalls designed for disability access, based on a percentage of the total number of stalls in a parking facility. Design requirements (minimum width, etc.) apply regardless of the size of the lot.

However, if the parking lot has a total of four or fewer spaces, the accessible stall doesn’t have to be marked with a sign reserving it as disability parking. The exception is intended to prevent very small entities from having to reserve 25% or more of their parking for people with disabilities.

Absent such signage, anyone can park in the space. However, if you recognize that a roomy stall is designed for disability access — even if no sign reserves it as such — please park elsewhere if you can. You never know when a person with a disability will arrive and need the extra room the accessible stall provides.

Another reader had an opposite experience, and asked a related question.

Q: I have a handicap parking placard for a heart and lung condition that limits my ability to walk much distance. My husband, who drives me, has an electric car. It would be nice if more handicap stalls also had electric chargers. Is there a requirement?

A: Yes. “Based on the broad nondiscrimination requirement of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), EV charging stations must be accessible to and usable by a person with a disability. These EV charging stations, however, must not displace or replace any accessible parking stalls required” by law, according to an interpretive opinion issued by DCAB, which you can read at 808ne.ws/dcabop.

The ruling says that where EV charging stations are provided at facilities covered by the ADA, “at least 5%, but not less than one of each type of EV station provided, shall be accessible for people with disabilities.” It describes minimum requirements for the width, slope and turning space at accessible EV charging sites.

Mahalo

Many thanks to the stranger who assisted my sister when she altered her usual bus route home and became confused. My sister lives with a developmental disorder and cherishes her semi-independence. What could have ended badly instead was a mere inconvenience, thanks to the lady who changed her own route to get my sister headed in the right direction. — Grateful sister

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.