By KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
Though Ingram doesn't use a wheelchair and doesn't appear to be disabled, his heart functions at only about 15 percent of its capacity. This drastically limits his ability to walk long distances. Just to walk half a block, Ingram said, he has to stop at least twice to catch his breath.
Even the designated space in front of his Shore Road apartment complex is a problem, Ingram said. While the space is close to the entrance, drivers who park next to it rarely notice Ingram's car when they back out. His car, he said, has suffered nearly $1,500 worth of damage when drivers haven't paid attention in the tight quarters.
Ingram now parks in a lot half a block away. His main concern, though, is the designation -- or lack thereof -- of handicapped-parking spaces throughout the city. For the past six months, Ingram has been working with local police to combat the problem, but he said little progress has been made.
While most business parking lots have designated parking spaces for the disabled near the entrance, one Long Beach business relegated it to the back of its lot -- next to a garbage bin. There is an access ramp at the front of Blockbuster Video's parking lot, Ingram said, but the reserved parking space is at the back of the lot. A customer in a wheelchair must pass seven parking spaces before reaching the sidewalk, he added. To boot, the handicapped parking sign that hung on the building is missing, Ingram pointed out.
While it's mandatory to provide a reserved parking space in a lot, Long Beach Police Traffic Division Lt. Eugene Brown explained that the law states only that the space must be reasonably close. And, he added, the law doesn't require a business to designate one of its prime spaces. Though Brown sympathizes with Ingram's complaint, the decision is ultimately left up to the owner of the parking lot, he said.
Long Beach Shopping LLC, also known as Philips International Holding Corp. -- a major developer in Long Beach -- is the owner of the Blockbuster lot, according to Long Beach Building Commissioner Scott Kemins. Philips International built the Cinema Four movie theater and was chosen by the city to develop a hotel and condominiums on the Superblock. As of press time, the company could not be reached for comment.
When the Herald notified Blockbuster Video's corporate office of Ingram's complaint, immediate action was taken, a Blockbuster spokesperson said. While it is the landlord's responsibility to designate the parking space, a letter was immediately sent to the landlord to make sure the parking space conforms with the regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). "We require that all of our facilities are in compliance with ADA regulations," said the spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Ingram is calling for additional handicapped-parking spaces to be provided on Park Avenue.
"We are always open to suggestions from the public to accommodate the handicapped-parking in the city," City Manager Harold Porr said. "I think we have been pretty responsive."
Over the past eight months, Porr said, the city has added new street-side reserved parking spaces on Park Avenue. Last summer, a parking space was added in front of Echo Stationers, and there is an access ramp next to it.
While Park Avenue doesn't have many such spaces, there are an abundance of them in the parking malls. But not every space in the malls is safe, Ingram claims. And frequenting the designated spaces means crossing three lanes of traffic on the busiest street in Long Beach.
"Cars are driving fast," he said. "You wouldn't want to be someone on crutches when a car comes flying down the street."
On westbound Park Avenue, one of three designated spaces is in front of the Harriett Eisman Community School, and the other two are in front of the Long Beach Public Library. Eastbound, in addition to the space in front of Echo, there are two more are in front of St. Mary of the Isle Roman Catholic Church.
Besides the traffic, Ingram explained, the parking spaces in the malls present another danger for someone in a wheelchair. In the two parking malls between Roosevelt and Neptune boulevards, the designated parking spaces are near a curb cut, but there isn't a curb cut on the sidewalk on the other side of the street, Ingram pointed out. And since these lots don't run the entire length of a block, a person in a wheelchair must cross the street diagonally to get to the curb cut on the corner.
Handicapped-parking-space placement is just a small piece of a much larger problem, advocates say. Handicapped-parking is so designated for several reasons, explained Jim Conlon, co-founder and president of Citizens United to Remove Barriers (C.U.R.B.). Most important, the spaces are designed for safety.
"The only reason why a person like myself would use a parking spot is for safety," said Conlon, who has used a wheelchair since suffering an aneurysm 25 years ago. "The majority of people who use the parking spot have the permit for all the wrong reasons."
Calling the handicapped-parking permit system "abused," Conlon said many people who aren't disabled use the reserved spaces. Some drivers use permits that are for family members who aren't in the car, he said, while others obtain the permits illegally, with the help of their doctors. Conlon maintains that these are major problems everywhere.
"I used to be 6'1"," he said. "But when you're in a wheelchair, you lose about two feet." Conlon explained that when he's behind a car, he drops below the driver's line of sight. That puts him in danger when he has to park in a lot where designated parking spaces aren't in the most convenient place, such as the Blockbuster lot.
For now, Conlon believes the city should do a survey of the handicapped-parking spaces in Long Beach, accompanied by the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association. The association is extremely knowledgeable of ADA guidelines.
"They should do the spots all over again, and do them correctly," he said. "Because they aren't correct."
One area where the city recently took action is in front of the Post Office. Officials followed a resident's suggestion to add a space directly in front of the building, and the city plans to designate such a space in the next 10 days.
As for Ingram's problem with the space at his apartment complex, Lt. Brown said he would look at the possibility of reassigning the space. And, he added, the Long Beach P.D.'s traffic division will continue to assess the need for and the safety-related issues regarding street-side handicapped parking in the city's commercial districts.
