Balboa Island gets first disabled parking spot
June Casagrande
BALBOA ISLAND -- Valinda Martin used to circle the island’s dense
downtown in search of a parking spot where she could get her wheelchair
out of her van without holding up traffic for five minutes.
Her search is over.
Last week, Balboa Island got its first-ever parking spot for people
with disabilities after a little work by City Councilman Steve Bromberg.
“It was very nice that Steve worked on having this done,” said Martin,
owner of Art for the Soul on Marine Avenue. “It makes it much easier for
the people who need it.”
Bromberg said he asked City Manager Homer Bludau to look into
installing the parking space after a man with disabilities wrote to
complain about getting a parking ticket for parking in a yellow zone.
Autos with disabled placards may park in yellow and green zones, but not
in red.
“Obviously, there was a need for handicapped parking there,” said
Bromberg, a Balboa Island resident and former head of the local
homeowners’ association..
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires new commercial properties
to include parking for people with disabilities, but it doesn’t govern
parking spaces on city property. And because Balboa Island has next to no
commercial parking, there has never been such a parking space there.
The new parking spot is near the fire station on Park Avenue, in front
of the restrooms. Since the spot was created last week, Bromberg said it
is seldom empty. Martin’s van, as well as numerous other cars with
placards, regularly take advantage of the space.
“It’s nice to see,” Bromberg said.
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