The Americans with Disabilities Act turned 20 this week, as I wrote about. Let me tell you one of those disability things that really infuriated me, still infuriates me and it was five or six years ago.
A blind man was crossing the street heading for the local Bruegger’s bakery (at Madison and South Allen, for you locals). I had the sense that he’d made this trip a number of times before. But on this day, some yahoo decided to park his car across the crosswalk. I’m thinking that the driver figured that he’d “only be there a few minutes”. But the blind man was terribly disoriented walking into the car, and I was too far away from him to help. The kicker is that – lazy jerk! – there was a parking space three car lengths away.
I’ve seen other cars park there subsequently and it never fails to irritate. It’s particularly problematic when there is snow on the ground, and those folks with walkers and canes have to maneuver around these turkeys. Ditto to those people who park a second car so that it blocks the sidewalk.
I’ve actually given more than a passing thought of making up faux parking tickets to stick on their windshields, with a message, “Hey schmuck: If this were a real ticket, your inconsideration would cost you $50.”
Any of you have pet peeves regarding the way selfish folks make it more difficult for the disabled? (And the rest of us: damn car parked across the sidewalk in winter makes me slip/slide into the street!)