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Suffolk County Sheriff workers don't care about the handicapped
By adamg on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 8:56am
Channel 4 catches a bunch parking in handicap spots at the neighboring Spaulding Hospital. Repeatedly. Through a mouthpiece, Sheriff Cabral says she isn't responsible for where employees park their own cars.
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Comments
Um I would think Human
Um I would think Human Resources could talk to them? Many companies have a clause in their employee contracts that involve actions that affect the image on the companies. I would think that FRAUD would be of concern for people working for the Sheriff.
There's an HR department for
There's an HR department for kickbacks? Maybe the cousin, aunt or uncle who pulled the strings should sit down with their lesser relations and explain how they shouldn't mess up a good thing.
What would possess
anyone to drive to work if they worked at the Suffolk County lockup? It's spitting distance from North Station.
24 Hour Operation?
No, not the T ... the jail. If you work a shift that starts or ends late, no T for you. Not to mention that a lot of the T shuts down at 8pm these days (i.e. bus routes).
Well if that were the case
Well if that were the case shame on the office for not providing parking...
So, when is Channel 4 going to do the follow-up story about
people with handicap placards taking on-street metered spaces for most of the day without paying (as I frequently observe walking to and from my office), and the fact that the City of Boston doesn't ticket and tow those illegally parked vehicles.
roadman
people with HP placards are exempt from any time related restriction (meters, 2 hour parking, 15 minute etc).
In other words, you're saying they have both the exclusive right
to use certain marked parking spaces(which I do not object to) AND they also have the right to use any other parking space free of charge for as long as they wish.
Meaning no disrespect to disabled people here, but what does a parking fee or a time limit have to do with a person's disability anyway? Such preferential treatment may had made sense in the days before ADA and designated handicap-only parking spaces, but IMO it makes very little sense now.
It depends on the situation
It depends on the situation I would say. I have some family members who have these cards for a few different reasons and they have a hard time getting around at all. I never travel with them so I do not know how hard it is for them to use the train but considering it takes one of them 5 minutes to get into my car which involves pivets sliding etc I can only imagine what a bus ride would be like and she is only 30 , her disease will get worse.
I was on crutches for a a few weeks for an injury in high school and had to use the train for a few days with the crutches after the cast came off. Even as a 16 year old young healthy male I had a difficult time getting around. When your traveling put your mind in the head of someone who is disabled and think "what would a disabled person have to do to get around this?"
As for people who abuse it I have no mercy.
I generally agree with your points. In certain situations
(like near a medical office that has limited off-street parking), I could see allowing a disabled person some leeway on time limits at a normal metered parking space (say allow four hours maximum instead of two hours).
And if feeding the meter is an issue for a disabled person, perhaps the City could leave a payment envelope (and no, not the "red parking ticket" kind). However, I still have misgivings about the current system.
Note that the HP placarded cars I mentioned in my original post are parked in the same metered spot all day. I work a 9 to 5 shift in Downtown Boston (and not in a residental neighborhood), and these cars are there when I arrive in the morning and are still there when I leave at night.
In other words, these people are getting all day free parking. Even if the HP plaque is being used by the person it was properly issued to, (and again meaning no disrepect to disabled people), that still seems to me to be an abuse of the system. IMO, not as bad as what the sheriff's employees are doing, but still an abuse nonetheless.
Because a lot of people with disabilities can't ride the T
And already have ridiculous out-of-pocket expenses that people without disabilities don't have. It seems reasonable enough to me that someone can get free parking outside of their office if they can't take the T like others in the office do. Many workplaces only have meter parking nearby, which can only be used for two hours at a time ordinarily. Not enough time to go to work for most people. So the community provides these all-day spots so that people with disabilities can access work, school, an all-day seminar, etc.
Consider also that it likely takes the person twice as long to get ready in the morning as it takes you, twice as long to grab some groceries after work, etc.
These accommodations are provided so people with disabilities are able to go and work for a living and able to do things like shopping and appointments independently. Otherwise, they'd be sitting on their asses at home with aides doing everything for them, and they'd be hating every moment of it, and you'd be paying for their living costs and their aides.
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That being said there is NO
That being said there is NO excuse for anyone to ever use a placard if they are not disabled. I think some auditing should be done on occasion to ensure it is not being abused.
Oh, it is
People with placards are frequently asked to pull out ID and show the officer that it's their placard. Also subject to frequent harassment by members of the public who think that placards are only issued to people who use wheelchairs.
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I always avoid saying
I always avoid saying anything to a person who pulls into a spot I think they do not belong in because you never know. I figure if it is not right a police officer will figure it out. I do know of some people who use the parking spots who look fine but are in very bad condition internally and can not walk more then 100 feet without stopping due to illness or genetic disorder. So they may look fine but not be fine.
If you people only knew!
I have a friend who works at the jail there. There is no parking for the employees who actually have to deal with the inmates/detainees. They have to park a mile away and pay for it. Their own department will not even work with them to find parking at an affordable rate either. I am not making excuses for them parking in the hp spots but am asking people to take into consideration that the jail will offer parking to contractors, doctors, caseworkers, attorneys, and all the supervisors but will not offer any parking to the actual employees who do the grunt work inside the building. Its very easy for people to make comments about other peoples business especially if you have a nice comfy job that pays well and work 9-5. None of them make tons of money or work 9-5 and most have to work a lot of overtime just to keep their heads above water.
That's why the Sherriff should help find a solution
because not finding a solution means her workers must break the law.
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Also, Adam...
"people with disabilities" is AP style and APA style.
:o)
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it's not like Cabral is the Sheriff
Well it's not like Cabral is the Sheriff who could easily remind the employees under her charge to obey the law, in this inconvenient and yet example setting way.
What's that? She IS the Sheriff and she does have the authority as well as the leadership responsibility and moreover the legal responsibility to enforce the law? Well OK then, I take it all back.
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what is it about that job that turns the people who have it into
a-holes? Richie Rouse was a slug. Now this.