Emotional Journey Maps

Finding the Problem

Problem Statement: Users of wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers need differently designed and consistently available parking options because many existing "handicap parking" arrangements endanger their safety when they leave or enter their vehicles.

While the Americans with Disabilities Act has forced public places to provide parking closer to entrances, the design of these parking areas is not always as safe as it might be. This is especially true in cities and towns that feature narrow streets that are lined with businesses. Moreover, areas that are lauded for the historic preservation often include store fronts where the closest parking options are in small, parallel, on-street configurations with little or no surface or garage parking nearby. Although large parking lots must include handicap accessible parking spots, they are too frequently designed with little or no consideration for how those spots must be used. Instead, many of these dedicated parking spots leave too little space between individual spots, and they far too often fail to minimize the possibility that a user might be injured as other drivers move through the parking lot.

In my work as an IEP Coordinator, I very often visit locations where more careful thought is given to how those bound to wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers leave and enter vehicles. Because I am frequently in locations where such considerations are more highly prioritized and thought out, I very often notice when supposedly handicap accessible parking is at best inconvenient and at worst, dangerous. My catchment area is an older city whose streets were planned at least two centuries ago, and most of the current downtown area includes buildings that are also a century or more old. Along the intown area of Main Street, businesses are connected, leaving no side streets or alley ways, and few locations have parking lots. Moreover, I have witnessed near-miss situations in which a person was disembarking from a vehicle parked at a local grocery store that I frequent. Thus, I decided to explore how problematic this truly is in my primary catchment areas city, which is just a few minutes from the town in which I reside to see exactly how much of a problem this is.

To begin, I decided to narrow my focus to the "main drag," Main Street, which is very long and truly incorporates a staggering number of parking situations. I realized, however, that it would be almost impossible to visit all of these sites in person, so I turned to Google Earth and followed the length of Main Street as if I were flying over it. Using the zooming function, I was able to recognize familiar locations and their available parking options. This alone was stunning.

  

I started at the end of town closest to where I live and chose the Veterans' Center as the first site I considered. Since the area has a large elder population, I knew this site would be one that would often have clients who need handicap accessible parking. The location includes two buildings that share a small parking lot. The largest building has four designated parallel parking slots along its face, and there is another parking lot across from this site, which reserves its parking area for its customers only. In this situation, the parking area is limited and closely spaced. While the parallel parking slots are larger, they are nevertheless along a narrow right of way area through which cars come and go for other businesses that are behind this location. Drivers would be forced to veer around individuals getting into or out of vehicles, and if one of these people is wheelchair bound, extra room to maneuver is needed.

 

The next location I considered is a hardware store. The building is essentially an L-shape, and the storefront runs along Main Street. The main entrance is nestled in the corner of the L. The location is on a street corner. There is a small entryway to the parking lot on the street side and another area of side-by side parking . While the image appears to show parking immediately in front of the store, it is deceiving. In fact, this area is used for outdoor displays year round, so the primary parking in diagonal along Main Street. Handicap accessible slots are at the far end, along the side-by-side parking. The area designated is very narrow. Additionally, the parking area is so small that drivers must back into the street to pull out. This means that if a handicap accessible vehicle is a rear-loading one, the ramp and or lift would extend almost into the street, which leads to the parking lot of a school whose sports fields are close by. The side street, then, is often busy and a potential disaster waiting to happen.

The third location surprised me. This is a school. Traffic is to flow in one direction as indicated by the diagonal parking slots. There are two handicap-designated slots, and only one provides enough room for a side-opening lift and/or ramp. If more than one person uses a side-opening vehicle, one will not have enough room to disembark. If the vehicle opens from the rear, there is the possibility that he or she could be struck as other vehicles proceed through the right of way.

Location four is a grocery store. The parking lot is small and very often nearly full. The black vehicle traveling along one of the lanes offers some perspective on how narrow the space is. Designated areas for handicap parking are at the front of the store and provide some space for side-opening vehicles. However, the depth of the slots is such that if a person has a rear-opening lift and/or ramp, again, the user is forced into the right of way. Moreover, because the parking area is tight and very busy, I and others have had occasions of being unable to clearly see if there is a person around the corners and have had to stop suddenly to avoid hitting a person using one of the handicap accessible spots. 

A sort of mini mall is location number five. On the far right is the main entrance to the parking lot, and it is clear that there is a straightaway from the entrance all the way to one of the store fronts. There are several poorly-placed handicap accessible parking slots here. First, in the lower right of the image, one can see that indeed, there are parking slots that offer ample room for vehicles that open from the side, which is helpful. However, once individuals are out of the vehicle, it may be impossible to see oncoming cars if other large, high profile vehicles are blocking the line of sight. The person using a wheelchair or scooter would have to edge into the roadway to see whether or not traffic is coming their way, thereby risking an accident. At the top of the image is a black roof, where a bank with a drive through exists. The handicap accessible slot for that bank is in front of it, but the exit for the drive through runs alongside the bank. Moreover, there is a regular access parking slot between the handicap accessible slot and the drive through exit. Customers leaving the drive through and turning right would be unable to see if a handicapped person were moving from a vehicle and into the parking lot or if a vehicle has a rear-opening lift or ramp extended. 

While this city has hundreds of parking sites, including a very long stretch in a congested downtown area where the only parking is on-street parallel parking, I will end with this WalMart parking lot. Clearly, the arrangement here takes far more into consideration, including the different kinds of vehicles that may carry those who need wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers. Much more room is extended for safer exit and entry into vehicles. They provide additional room for a safer line of sight for those moving into the parking lot, making it easier to avoid hitting someone or being hit. However, the white car turning illustrates how easily drivers can stray into that safe area.

The design of handicap accessible parking areas has other problems as this video shows:

To try to get an idea of how side and rear ramps and lifts compare in terms of size and the room required to use them, check out how big they can be:

If I were asking my students, who are adults, to uncover problems worth trying to solve, I would absolutely ask them to think about the things they do and take for granted every single day. When I started this project, I was stymied at first to come up with an idea. However, when I made a trip out to my local grocery store (the one I note above), the problem was right in front of me as I went around a vehicle that was opening for a ramp. On my way home, I thought about the places I go for IEP meetings and how many of those arrangements are safer. One thing led to the next in my thinking, and as I look back at the thought process now, everything exists in my everyday life. These are things I notice but don't actually notice. In other words, I am aware of these problems, but I don't think about them very often because the problems impact others, not me. Then I would encourage students to ask themselves how they would feel if these challenges were their own or if they affected a loved one. From there, I think for many of my learners, it would be a fairly straightforward process of recognizing problems that we see but fail to truly see.