The Schrammie: Punishing the disabled
The Seattle Department of Transportation has come up with a very creative way of going after people who illegally gobble up disabled parking spots downtown.
The idea is simple: Punish the people who are actually disabled.
So if the DOT genius who came up with this idea has a moment, I'd like him or her to step off the curb and come on down.
As it is right now, a handicap-parking permit allows vehicles to park in any space, for any length of time, for free.
But because there's such widespread abuse of those parking placards by people who are in no way disabled, the DOT has decided that people with an honest-to-God handicap will no longer be able to park in a spot for free for more than four hours.
The DOT figures that by cutting the time that disabled people can park, it stands to reason that those who are not disabled might be inconvenienced to the point of giving up their dastardly scofflaw ways.
It's that kind of convoluted thinking that makes us all so very proud of government bureaucrats.
So for punishing the people who need the law by changing the law so the lives of disabled people become just that much more difficult, I'd like Seattle's DOT genius to take a bow, because this "Schrammie" is for you.
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Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.
The idea is simple: Punish the people who are actually disabled.
So if the DOT genius who came up with this idea has a moment, I'd like him or her to step off the curb and come on down.
As it is right now, a handicap-parking permit allows vehicles to park in any space, for any length of time, for free.
But because there's such widespread abuse of those parking placards by people who are in no way disabled, the DOT has decided that people with an honest-to-God handicap will no longer be able to park in a spot for free for more than four hours.
The DOT figures that by cutting the time that disabled people can park, it stands to reason that those who are not disabled might be inconvenienced to the point of giving up their dastardly scofflaw ways.
It's that kind of convoluted thinking that makes us all so very proud of government bureaucrats.
So for punishing the people who need the law by changing the law so the lives of disabled people become just that much more difficult, I'd like Seattle's DOT genius to take a bow, because this "Schrammie" is for you.
---
Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.