Handicapped Parking Fines to Increase

Effective November 19, 2001, it will cost you a lot more if you park illegally in a handicapped parking spot in Milford. At the Milford Town Meeting held last July, the fine for a handicapped parking violation was increased from $50 to $125.

Interim Milford Police Chief, Michael Pighetti, has instructed his officers to ticket vehicles that do not display HP plates or a placard parked in spots designated for the handicapped starting Monday, November 19, 2001.

According to Janet Dale, chairperson of the Milford Commission on Disability and Interim Chief Pighetti, illegal parking in a space reserved for individuals with disabilities continues to be a problem, not just in Milford, but in other towns as well. “People park there illegally thinking it’s OK because they will be there for only a short time,” says Ms. Dale. “If you do not have a disability and do not have the required HP plate or placard, you have no right to use that HP parking spot.”

Ms. Dale, who drives a van equipped with a wheelchair lift, also wants to alert the public about another change in the state handicapped parking law. The new law prohibits parking in the striped areas adjacent to the HP spaces. Violators who park in a striped area will be subject to ticketing, even if they have a valid HP plate or placard.

Speaking for all involved in the process of increasing the fines, Selectman Dino DeBartolomeis, who sponsored the HP fine increase at Town Meeting, wants able- bodied drivers to know that this change is not being implemented to raise revenues. Rather, says DeBartolomeis, it is intended to make it extremely painful for violators in hopes they will think twice before parking illegally in a spot set aside for people with disabilities.

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For further information or interviews, contact the following:

Janet Dale (Chairperson) 508-478-6271

Dino DeBartolomeis (Selectman) 508-634-2303

Michael Pighetti (Interim Police Chief) 508-473-1113

Handicapped Parking Fines to Increase

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