Editorial: Disabled gaining on parking issue

Luckily for disabled Las Vegans, an ill-conceived plan to diminish handicapped parking in the city is losing steam.

A two-member subcommittee consisting of Councilmen Larry Brown and Michael McDonald recommended Monday that the City Council reject the proposed ordinance, which would reduce the size of handicapped parking spaces and the number of access aisles.

The genesis of this ordinance reportedly came from area developers who felt that too much space has been set aside for handicapped parking, creating a hardship for small businesses where parking is limited already. After the Sun first reported on the plan, it was tough to find anyone who was willing to say he supported it. And as the Sun's Ed Koch reported Tuesday, no developer or businessman came forward to back the proposal during the subcommittee meeting at City Hall.

Current Las Vegas law requires larger handicapped parking spaces than the minimum required by federal law. Under the proposal, the city would reduce the size of handicapped spaces at new developments from a width of 9 feet to 8 feet. Also, the plan would allow a 5-foot access aisle on just one side of a handicapped space, while the current ordinance requires 5-foot access aisles on each side.

Despite their opposition to the plan, advocates for the disabled are willing to work with businesses to find common ground. Vince Triggs, director of the Nevada Association for the Handicapped, said the council should permit the granting of waivers to the city's higher standard if there was a "clear demonstration of hardship" to a business.

The full City Council should finish off this unnecessary proposal to roll back its handicapped parking standard when it meets on Aug. 10. Handicapped spaces are the size they should be now and the City Council should preserve its previous good judgment.

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