How do you feel about accessible parking?

When you see someone park in the handicapped zone that doesn't belong there, does it get under your skin? I tell you what, when you sometimes need that spot yourself, you really notice the violations more.

But what do you do about it? Do you wait around and confront the person? That can get dangerous. Do you call the police? Very timely and the person is usually gone by the time the police arrive.

But there is something you can do. You can join the movement with Parking Mobility and get something started. But it will take some perseverance.

Parking Mobility utilizes an app for your smart phone that allows you to report a violation of accessible parking from pretty much anywhere in the world. They are partnered with about 15 communities in this process as well. What does that mean?

It means that, in those communities, when a report is sent in, a ticket is eventually sent out. Parking Mobility works directly with the law enforcement agencies in those communities. Volunteers send in reports that are routed to the proper law enforcement division. In turn, a citation goes out in the mail to the lucky parking violator.

I spoke with Mack Marsh, the creator of the app and man behind the scenes with Parking Mobility. He explained to me that there are two things that need to happen in order to get the partnering process started in any community.

1: Evidence that there is a problem. That means collecting data and sending in reports. Even if you may not get your community partnered this year or next, this is the most important thing you can do. Using the app to send in reports is crucial. It takes a lot of data to get community leader's attention. That brings us to...

2: There needs to be enough people in the community who care about it and want to do something about it. That means a one man crusade is unlikely to get your area partnered. That's why I'm actively seeking more people to get involved in my area of Monroe and West Monroe, Louisiana.  You will need to seek out volunteers too.

Once those two conditions are met, Parking Mobility will seek out the proper connections in your community leaders and get the ball rolling for working together to control the problem of those violations. If you are going to work with Parking Mobility, please do not try contacting your community leaders without them. It can actually hurt the process. PM are professionals and know what they are doing. 15 partnered communities is a pretty good list of results so far.

So do note that I put the link up in the body of  this blog article. Get the app and get started. In my next write up, I will tell you more about how to use the app and what I personally do on my "patrols". Till then, you can also find training videos on the app's use via youtube and the website.