Bill Chamberlin’s campaign for better enforcement of handicapped parking regulations reached the Independence Township Board last week.
Speaking during the public forum time at the Tuesday, July 15 meeting, Chamberlin asked trustees to endorse a program to train handicapped citizens to issue citations to unauthorized vehicles using handicapped parking spaces.
Chamberlin also sought a resolution to enforce the requirement for posted (and signed) spaces reserved for the handicapped in public parking lots.
“It would help the handicapped people in many ways,” Chamberlin said. “It would also help the township because it would generate more income. Police are so tied up with really important cases, they don’t have time to go around and patrol lots where there’s parking for handicapped.”
Featured previously in The Clarkston News, Chamberlin has claimed handicapped parking regulations are not being enforced, and said even some state and federal government agencies lack proper signage for handicapped spaces.
Although state law sets the requirements, enforcement of such laws apparently fall to the township, and Chamberlin said he has received good feedback on a program to train handicapped people to be ticket writers.
That training would include not only how to write citations but also how to deal with people who receive them. A “ridealong” program is also recommended for trainees, he said.
“Handicapped people are lost citizens; they’re nobodies,” Chamberlin said. “People feel they don’t contribute to society anymore. They do, and they did. We need help.”
As a matter of policy, the township board does not make decisions on issues raised during the public forum.
Supervisor Dale Stuart, however, said he would consult with Lt. Dale LaBair, commander of the Independence substation of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, and with township attorneys.
“He has a legitimate point, and we’re going to follow up on it,” Stuart said later. He could not predict, however, how long that followup would take. “It takes some time for that kind of investigation.”