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Accessible parking spots bring out the worst in selfish drivers http://www.torontosun.com/2017/05/28/city-moves-to-tackle-fraudulent-use-of-disabled-parking-permits BY SHAWN JEFFORDS, POLITICAL BUREAU CHIEF FIRST POSTED: SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2017 01:06 PM EDT | UPDATED: SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2017 04:29 PM EDT Councillor Joe Mihevc says it’s an affront to people’s “sense of fairness.” Wide-spread abuse of accessible parking permits in the city — by drivers who are clearly not disabled — has city council doing a re-think of the entire system. Council last week voted in favour of move that could see the city develop a new permit system to work in parallel with the current provincial rules. Mihevc is hoping to restore faith in a system which is now causing concerns for disabled drivers. “It goads people’s sense of fairness,” he said of people who abuse the permits. “Everyone has a story about some neighbour who has got this pass and is able bodied. People with disabilities have come to me and said ‘When some people are cheating, it belittles the value of the pass for us.’” Mihevc said he’d like to see any new system incorporate strong verification for permit holders. Placing a photo on the back of dashboard permits might be a way to crackdown on drivers who use a disabled relative’s permit when that person isn’t present, he added. “We get complaints regularly of residents and neighbours seeing someone take a handicapped parking sticker and then walk out (of the vehicle) fully able bodied,” he said. “That’s what I think gets people’s goat, that misuse of the dashboard sign.” In February, Toronto Police reported that fines related to parking permits have spiked by 25% over the past year. In 2016, police issued 16,104 tickets related to parking permit abuse. That’s up from 12,877 in 2015. When the issue came to Mayor John Tory’s executive committee earlier this month, he called the current system a “fiasco” and asked that Queen’s Park move to address the fraudulent activity. “This is to request the government of Ontario, in a formal way, to undertake a complete review of the process of all aspects of accessible parking permits because I think it’s a fiasco,” he said. “It’s deteriorated into one. I think it’s hurting a lot of people.” Mihevc noted New York City’s accessible parking permit system could offer a solution. Their strong third-party verification limits fraud and helps in a city were parking is at a premium. “We’re not quite New York yet but we’re getting there,” he said. “To avoid the fights, to make sure everyone understands the rules, to make sure the system is fair and transparent, I’m proposing that our staff look at it and come back with a report.” There is no deadline for the review. Mihevc said the priority is to get the system right. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to get a long-term fix for a system that is broken,” he said. Victoria Stacey, spokesman for the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, said that ServiceOntario is conducting a full review of the Accessible Parking Permit program. sjeffords@postmedia.com