Halifax considers downtown parking permit for people with disabilities

A Halifax man wants the city to develop a new permit parking system for people with disabilities who work downtown — and city staff are considering it.

"It's not that I don't want to pay for parking," Ben Marston said. "It's that I really don't have an option."

Hard to find a spot

Marston works in an office on Spring Garden Road. He drives a truck with a winch that lifts his wheelchair in and out of the back, but the lift system means he can't park underground.

"It just goes too high. It's a challenge to find clearance," Marston said.

Pay meter too high

One surface parking lot close to where he works is appropriate, but Marston is unable to use it because he can't reach the pay station.

"I can get in. I just can't get out. I'd have to sit and wait for somebody to take my money and go pay," Marston said.

So Marston used the designated handicapped parking spots on the streets, but those have two to three hour time limits, forcing him to continually move his vehicle to another spot.

$800 in fines

Marston says he generally is able to find one that's close by, but last year he racked up $800 of parking tickets.

Marston says he thinks the solution is for the city to set up a permit system that would allow him to use a handicapped spot or a meter and pay monthly or yearly fees.  

The issue was raised at the city's transportation committee and members have asked staff to study the idea.