Billy Reynolds, a KSU senior history major, recently sent a complaint to the Sentinel that questioned KSU’s compliance with the 2009 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A West Deck parker in need of Handicapped parking, he stated that he has “driven for 40-45 minutes looking for a [handicapped parking space] in the West Deck.”
According to Reynolds, there are only two handicapped parking spaces on level three of the West Deck. This poses a problem for students in wheelchairs if the elevator breaks down. They cannot get up and down the stairs, and are forced to “return to their vehicle, reload gear, self, and chair back into the vehicle, drive for who knows how long to find a place somewhere across campus and then redo all unloading and start over again to class,” as Reynolds put it.
Not only is it an inconvenience, but it is also a safety hazard. In case of an emergency, students are told to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Students in wheelchairs cannot do this, and can therefore become trapped on some level of the parking deck(s) during an emergency.
According to the Georgia Handicapped Parking Requirements, for every 25 spaces in a parking lot, there must be 1 handicapped space. When the number reaches 501, the number of handicapped parking spaces required is two percent of the total number. When the number reaches 1,000, there must be 20 handicapped spaces with one additional spot per extra 100 spaces.
As shown in the table, most of the on-campus commuter student parking areas comply with the law, including the West Deck. However, some do not.
D Lot, East Lot, J Lot, and West Lot are all in violation of the Georgia Handicapped Parking Requirements.
KSU is a growing university in many different ways, including its diversity. Though most of these lots and decks are in compliance with the law, and some surplus it, both the law and the necessities of the students need to be taken into account.
The majority of handicapped parking spaces should be on the ground level of the Decks to make accessibility easier on students with disabilities.
For the table: Number of Handicapped Parking Spaces came from the 2011 Area Parking Counts. Non-Handicapped Parking Spaces came from the totals on the Area Parking Counts minus the Handicapped Parking Spaces. Required numbers were calculated based on the Georgia Handicapped Parking Requirements.
Time for this “senior staff write” to get a demotion. This isn’t a news piece; it’s an opinion.
“The majority of handicapped parking spaces should be on the ground level of the Decks to make accessibility easier on students with disabilities.”
Says who? The law doesn’t say that. Under the same logic all handicap students must take classes on the ground floor incase the elevator breaks or there is an emergency. Parking is inconvenient for most people who drive on campus and we all want the closest spot.