To continue to ensure that parking is accessible to people with disabilities, UNM’s Department of Parking and Transportation Services has made some modifications to the way handicapped parking on campus is handled. You may have recently noticed some of the following Parking and Transportation initiatives to enhance the accessibility of the UNM campus for persons with disabilities.
Photo (l. to r.): Janet Luarkie, Albert Tafoya and Wendell Billingsley install barriers in the dismount zones of handicap spaces to discourage people from parking in these areas.
· As part of a state-wide increase, fines for improperly parking in a handicap space went up from $100 to $250.
· Barrier posts have been installed to prevent people from parking in the dismount zones required around all handicap spaces.
· Those who use handicap parking at the Cornell Parking Structure may be asked to show their handicap parking placard identification card and drivers’ license, in addition to clearly displaying their handicap placard, to confirm eligibility.
· Parking enforcement personnel are continuing to make accessibility a top priority with strict enforcement of placard display requirements and restrictions on obstructing dismount zones and wheelchair cuts.
· Approximately 90% of the Parking and Transportation Services shuttle fleet is equipped with wheelchair lifts. The department expects to reach 100% as older shuttles are replaced over the next few years.
Display of a state-issued handicap parking placard entitles the placard holder to free parking in regular permit spaces, at parking meters, and at the Cornell Parking Structure, in addition to designated accessible parking spaces.
“As a student who uses accessible parking, I am happy to see these changes,” said Jose Quinones, student chair of the Accessible Parking Working Group at UNM. “It is my hope that UNM Parking and Transportation will continue to make accessible parking a top priority and continue to find ways of making accessible parking available for people who legitimately need it.”
Media Contact: Stacy Nagyvary, (505) 277-5692; e-mail: snagyvary@parking.unm.edu