Our View – Save handicap spaces for those who need them

By Staff
The holiday season is supposed to be a time filled with joy and the spirit of giving.
But during the season, in Russellville and surrounding areas, we saw far too much of a phenomenon that is selfish and certainly doesn't bring anyone much joy.
If you watch carefully in local parking lots, there are far too many people, who are obviously able-bodied, parking in handicap parking spaces.
First, there are the individuals with no handicap tag or placard who dart into a handicap space and run in the store brazenly, making no bones about the fact that they shouldn't park there. These folks make the excuses that they "will only be a minute," or that there "are too many handicap spaces anyway," or that there "was nowhere else to park."
These excuses won't hold water, in our opinion. Those spaces, no matter how numerous, are needed for people with disabilities and shouldn't be used for an impatient shopper's convenience.
Then there is another group of people who are more creative. These folks actually have a handicap tag, but it belongs to their parents or grandparents or some other friend or relative.
This group pulls into the space and gets out, confident that they won't receive a ticket for their deception.
We realize there are groups of people whose handicap is not visually obvious, but still have a legitimate handicap. That's fine with us. But a lot of young people jump out of a car parked in a handicap space and almost sprint into the store. These folks are the target of our editorial.
Think before you park in these spaces.
They are there for a purpose - to aid people with a legitimate need to park close to their destination.
The extra walking, or extra time to find a space further out, won't hurt any of us.
Let's save handicap spaces for those who need them. It's the right thing to do.