CONCERNS are being raised in the disabled community that there is a lack of synchronisation between aspects of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) and the Disabilities Act, specifically as it relates to illegally parking in spaces designated for members of that group.

Project manager of the Foundation for the Disabled, Cleon Porter has taken issue with the fact that the newly enacted RTA does not make specific provision for this aspect of illegal parking.

“It is urgent and needed because persons are taking advantage. If they [the police] should prosecute, they wouldn’t have any real grounds to sit on [and] that would expose the JCF to lawsuits and those things. We believe they [lawmakers] are not paying attention. When they are making laws and regulations they need to include the disabled organisations — not only the Government-run one [which is] the JCPD (Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities) — [but] get the others that are non-government aligned as well,” he suggested to the Jamaica Observer.

Porter lamented,too, objects being placed in parking spots for the disabled, causing not only an inconvenience but creating potentially risky impediments for these persons.

“When you go to the supermarket and those places you have things barring it, so when persons drive up how do you expect the disabled person to come out of their vehicle to move big irons or cones? We want it to remain free so that you can drive in easily. Whichever establishments that have any objects blocking off these things, they must be fined,” he insisted.

He added: “Motorists that parked in these spots should be ticketed accordingly [under the RTA].”

Weighing in on the issue, legislator Senator Floyd Morris, a long-standing and vocal advocate for the promotion of equal rights for and enhancement of the welfare of the disabled community, said, “they are absolutely correct”, pointing out that he had in fact raised the matter in the debates on the Disabilities Act, which was passed in 2022.

“I first raised it in the Building Act [debate] and they said no, it wasn’t appropriate for that [as] it would come in the Road Traffic Act — and [yet] that has not happened. And I have been raising Cain about this matter because people continue to park in disabled parking, ignoring that these are designated parking for persons with disabilities, and there are no consequences when these individuals do that. It’s a simple fix to make it illegal for individuals to park in disabled parking,” he argued, stressing that this should be a specific, ticketable offence. The Opposition senator noted that one of the points raised in the discussions around illegal parking was whether a portion of the revenue from those tickets should go towards resourcing the disabled community.

Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB), Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie said while it is not explicitly stated in the RTA, the police do have jurisdiction to prosecute.

“While it doesn’t spell it out per se in the Act, it is still an offence which can be prosecuted. Once the [disabled parking] sign is there, someone could be prosecuted for disobeying ‘other’ road traffic signs. Where an approved designated parking is in place for disabled persons — usually marked in blue and white, and accompanied by a sign — where it is observed by the police that someone who is not disabled parks there, then the police can take action,” he explained.

Under the schedule of offences in the regulations of the RTA, failing to comply with ‘other traffic signs’ attracts a $6,000 fine and three demerit points.

The traffic division head pointed out that while plazas and other private areas which the public has access to come under the scrutiny of the police in relation to breaches of the law, issues specific to parking are the responsibility of property managers, under the licences which allow them to operate.

“As it relates to that [illegal parking], it is more the persons who are the owners of these entities [who need to monitor wht takes place]. In their commercial licence, that has to be approved, that’s where it needs to be specific to say that there should be at least a number of spaces available for [disabled] persons. In terms of managing parking, these entities have private security so we expect that private security will ensure that this is conformed with. If persons disobey and a situation is escalated, then the police can respond to it and can give instructions around it. And where those instructions are not obeyed then the police can prosecute for failing to obey the police instructions,” he explained.

Several years ago the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) announced new measures to address illegal parking in sections of the Corporate Area, including a tougher stance on the abuse of disabled parking. At the time the council had also ramped up an initiative to increase the number of parking spaces designated for the physically challenged in commercial areas.