Permits still let all disabled park for free, at least for now

The Portland City Council will set aside -- for now -- a new state law that would take away the rights of thousands of disabled people who don't use wheelchairs to park downtown for free.

"The state has created a two-tiered system, one for wheelchair users and one for people not in wheelchairs. It's just a crazy idea," said Bernie Lowenthal, who walked to the front of the council chambers Wednesday with the aid of leg braces.

"I'm sure police officers have better uses for their time than dragging people out of their parking spaces," Lowenthal said.

The 2007 Legislature created a new disabled parking permit for wheelchair users. The permits before now made no distinction.

The law says the new wheelchair permit holders must have designated spots set aside in off-street parking lots and must be allowed to park for free for as long as they want in metered spaces.

But it does away with free, unlimited metered parking for people with all other disabled parking permits, saying cities can decide what privileges to give those permit holders.

The council didn't seem anxious to go there.

"I don't think there's support on this council to take away your privileges," Commissioner Randy Leonard told Lowenthal.

But Leonard said he would appreciate a discussion about why the city should offer free parking for disabled people in general.

Only three council members were present, so they deferred final action until Jan. 2 on a proposed ordinance retaining disabled parking privileges for current permit holders for six months. But the council did approve a resolution creating a task force to study the issue.

Senate Transportation Chairman Rick Metsger, D-Welches, said the idea was to give cities more control over the often-contentious issue of disabled parking, a power he said they have been seeking for some time.

"Portland can do what they want," Metsger said.

He said the legislation grew out of complaints from wheelchair users that they had trouble finding parking spaces big enough for a wheelchair van because all the spaces were taken by cars with disabled parking permits.

The system is rife with abuse, Metsger said. "There are too many permits out there," he said, "and people are taking spaces all day long for things other than doctor visits."

Metsger said many big cities around the country are grappling with the problem. San Francisco, he said, has more disabled parking permits than parking meters.

Ellis McCoy, Portland's parking manager, said he proposed the six-month moratorium and creation of the task force because the city hasn't had a chance to discuss the implications of the new law with disabled people, business groups and other interested parties.

McCoy said downtown businesses have issues with the disabled parking program. "Spaces in front of their stores are occupied all day, and it doesn't provide an opportunity for turnover," he said.

It's not clear how many Portlanders have a disabled parking permit, but David House of Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services said there are between 70,000 and 80,000 permit holders statewide.

McCoy said the city's most recent survey in July found that as many as one of every five parking spaces in the city's core was occupied by cars displaying a disabled parking permit.

Last year, the city handed out 140 tickets for misuse of a disabled parking permit, officials said. Most were issued to drivers who weren't the person named on the permit, but there were also cases of fraud.

Longtime Portland activist Joe Uris urged the council not to form a committee to study the issue. It could lead to diluting the access to downtown enjoyed by people such as his wife who has multiple sclerosis, he said.

"This would take her out of the action," he said.

James Mayer: 503-294-5988; jimmayer@news.oregonian.com