Accessible Parking Spaces Are Essential For People with Disabilities

Accessible Parking Spaces Are Essential for People With Disabilities

By Jessica Grono
Accessible parking spaces are not a convenience or a special privilege. For many people with disabilities, they are essential for getting safely in and out of a vehicle and accessing the community.

As a wheelchair user, I have experienced firsthand what happens when someone parks illegally in an accessible parking space or blocks the striped access aisle beside it. What may look like a little extra empty pavement to someone else can be the exact space I need to get out of my van.

My van has a wheelchair ramp that lowers from the side. Without enough room beside the van, the ramp cannot come down properly. That means I may literally be unable to get out of my vehicle—or, even worse, unable to get back into it after I’ve gone somewhere.

Imagine going shopping, to a doctor’s appointment, to work, or out to eat and discovering that you cannot get back into your own vehicle because someone decided the striped area next to your van was an extra parking spot.

That’s why accessible parking matters.

Accessible Parking Is About Independence

People sometimes think accessible parking is simply about being closer to the entrance. For some people with disabilities, distance absolutely matters. A person may have a heart condition, chronic pain, difficulty walking, balance problems, or another disability that isn’t immediately visible.

For wheelchair users like me, however, the width of the parking space and access aisle can be just as important as the distance from the entrance.

My wheelchair needs room. My ramp needs room. The person helping me may also need space to safely maneuver around my chair.

When someone blocks that space, they aren’t just inconveniencing me. They are taking away my ability to enter or leave my vehicle independently and safely.

Not Every Disability Is Visible

I also think it’s important to remember that you cannot always tell whether someone needs accessible parking simply by looking at them.

Not everyone who has an accessible parking placard or license plate uses a wheelchair. Some people can walk but cannot safely walk long distances. Others have medical conditions or disabilities that aren’t obvious.

I don’t believe we should judge whether someone “looks disabled enough.”

If someone has a legitimate accessible parking placard or plate, there may be a very good reason for it that we cannot see.

The problem is when people knowingly use accessible spaces or access aisles when they don’t need or aren’t authorized to use them.

I’ve Had People Refuse to Move

Over the years, I’ve encountered very different reactions when someone with me has asked a person to move their vehicle.

Some people are apologetic. Maybe they didn’t realize what they were doing or didn’t understand why the extra space was necessary.

Other people become rude or defensive.

One experience has always stayed with me. My personal care attendant asked a woman to move her vehicle because she was blocking the space my wheelchair ramp needed.

The woman explained that she parked there because she didn’t want her car door to get scratched.

We explained why I needed the space and why her parking there prevented me from using my ramp.

She moved.

But as soon as we pulled away, she parked there again.

That was difficult to understand. Once someone knows that their decision can prevent a wheelchair user from getting in or out of a vehicle, why would protecting a car door be more important?

Accessibility isn’t about asking for special treatment. It’s about having the same opportunity as everyone else to go somewhere and get home again.

A Parking Dispute Should Never Become Dangerous

When I originally wrote about this subject in 2020, I had read a disturbing story about a wheelchair user who confronted someone over the misuse of an accessible parking space.

According to reports at the time, the disagreement escalated, and the wheelchair user was knocked from his chair and suffered a broken wrist.

That story stayed with me because I’ve asked people—or had someone with me ask people—to move from spaces that I needed.

No parking disagreement is worth someone getting hurt.

If you encounter someone illegally parked in an accessible space or blocking an access aisle, protecting your own safety is more important than proving a point. Depending on the situation, contacting the business, property owner, parking enforcement, or appropriate local authority may be a safer option than confronting someone directly.

The Striped Lines Are Not a Parking Space

One thing I especially wish more drivers understood is that the striped area beside an accessible parking space is there for a reason.

Please don’t park there.

Please don’t leave your vehicle there “just for a minute.”

Please don’t use it while waiting for someone.

Please don’t let your shopping cart block it.

That space may be where someone’s wheelchair lift or ramp needs to deploy.

A few minutes to you could mean that someone else is trapped inside or outside their vehicle.

Accessibility Gives People Freedom

Accessible parking is one small part of a much bigger conversation about accessibility.

People with disabilities want to work, shop, eat at restaurants, attend our children’s activities, go to church, travel, visit friends, and participate in our communities.

Something as simple as a properly designed and respected accessible parking space helps make that possible.

I’ve spent my life navigating a world that isn’t always designed with wheelchair users in mind. Sometimes the barriers are complicated and expensive to fix. Respecting accessible parking isn’t one of them.

It only requires people to understand what those spaces are for and leave them available for the people who need them.

The next time you see an accessible parking space or the striped access aisle beside it, remember: that empty space has a purpose.

For someone like me, it can mean the difference between being able to get out of my van and participate in the world—or not being able to get out at all.

Accessibility isn’t a favor.

It’s freedom.