I've been going to the gym to walk on the treadmills in the hopes of getting my strength and endurance up so I can get rid of my cane. In just the last two weeks, I've noticed something. The people who ride their motorcycles to the gym have a weird habit of parking in the handicap spots. (well, in the hash marks where you'd have wheelchair access)

I dont see anything on the motorcycles saying that they're eligible to park in the handicap spots. No tags, placards...nothing. I'm sure there are a few motorcycle riders out there that might be able to park in the handicapped spots, but I would bet they have the correct parking permits for that and they're displayed correctly. I've looked at these bikes. There's nothing on them indicating that they've got a placard.

Been using my ipod touch to take pictures of the bikes. I just tweeted a picture of today's offender to the gym's twitter account. There's plenty of parking down there. I just dont understand why these motorcycle riders seem to think that the hash lines of the handicap spots are for motorcycle parking. Since I park in the handicap spots (I have the handy dandy placard) It's a bit irritating to get there and find motorcycles parked in all the wheelchair access areas of the parking spots, and not parked very well. (badly enough that I cant squeeze my minivan into the spot without knocking over their bike or scratching my van)

Am I right to be annoyed? I think I'm going to email the people that enforce the handicap parking, and give them a heads up that they could ticket a few of these people.

I'd definitely speak to a manager about it, these people probably just got lazy.... and if no one says anything to remind them of the rules ...they will keep doing it.

Maybe you could print out the pics and post them on the front door of the gym with a note reminding them that the handicapped spots are for the handicapped.

If that doesn't work you could send them to the local P.D. Just make sure you get a good pic of the license plate.

Or you could leave a note letting them know that you'd hate to accidentally bump into their bike and knock it over but if they insist on parking illegally it's possible that it might just happen.

I'd pull right in and block it! After getting a pic with lic plate.

A couple of them are those big motorcycles that are probably pretty heavy, but one of them is one of those little scooters that seem to be popular with women. I could probably block the big bikes, but the little scooter could probably be lifted over a curb and moved that way.

It's just SOOOO annoying, to get there and see motorcycles parked right next to the door where I want to park, in the handicap spot. These guys are going to the gym. To exercise. (the irony of it...) You'd think they'd be able to handle walking the extra 40 feet to the door. Lazy butts!

I'm sure they're really tired after bench pressing a few hundred pounds, or jogging a few miles, but I'm really really really exhausted after doing a half a mile. I need the space that's closer. (sometimes I stop before I'm tired. Sometimes I dont realize I'm tired and can barely move till I'm trying to get off the treadmill and then realize I can barely make it to the door...and that's after walking for less than a half mile sometimes. Depends on how tired the MS troll is that day)

I don't think you're wrong to be bothered. I had a dear friend back in the days I was more agile come ask me to shimmy in her car and back it out b/c someone at the gym parked so close to her big old Caddy that I had to get into the passenser side and climb across (which was a physical impossibility for her). Surely they noticed the big old car in the handicap spot right in front but chose to park so close that I couldn't have gotten in on the driver's side even if I weighed 80 lbs. She was in her 80's; we were working with the same physical therapist in the pool.

I do bettcha that it never occurred to them b/c they are not handicapped. And frankly 99% of people would want to know and would feel bad about not thinking. There is NO PARKING in the cross hatch spots for a reason most people never have to consider. Peeps with hc parking plackards/plates need the extra room for opening doors wide, equipment, loading our groceries etc. If I could shimmy into a half open door that would be a different story but I cannot. That is why the spots are wider and marked NO PARKING between. Some days I just go home w/o groceries b/c I am just too tired to deal with the parking to get into the store.

It takes a lot more physical ability in general to be able to ride a motorcycle b/c you have to be able to pick up several hundred pounds if you dump it, balance when stopped with your legs, even picking it up off the kickstand requires a lot of strength for some big bikes. I don't recall ever seeing a large bike with a hc sticker now that you mention it. I'm sure there are some but in general most disabled people need their cars just like they need the hc parking. Bicycles do the same thing many times when they disregard the rules of the road and parking. Most bike riders aren't struggling to walk over curbs or maneuver a scooter around.

I bet if they were made aware most would have the good grace to start thinking about where they park and give a lot more leeway and respect to the people because they can't imagine the situations we live. You will be creating more self-aware members of society that will help us all out a bit.

My pet peeve is the people that don't want their cars dented so park way over into the hc spots so people on the other side won't nick their doors. That leaves me with precious little space to clamber into my car if I'm having a bad day, or pull my grocery cart up close so I can unload w/o walking back and forth many times. Loading my car on the other side means I have to back my car into the garage to unload or walk around the car which is a little too long to fit in the garage and have me walk around easily. So i have to be careful the dogs don't trot out while I'm bag wrangling. I can't put them on the floor and bend to pick them up easily so it may take 20 more minutes just to get in my house.

This level of effort doesn't enter people's minds, how could it. A friend of my Mom's with MS asked a nice department store in their small town if they ever thought of installing a handicap bathroom for their shoppers. It was her favorite store but she rarely shopped there b/c there was no place she could easily go. So they very nicely built a grand little bathroom and installed the door so that it opened IN. i.e. nobody with a walker or wheelchair could enter AND close the door. It just never occurred to them. With very good grace they changed the door and now she has her fav store back. People do want to help, sometimes they just need to know how.

I am tired of motorcycles parking all over sidewalks and ramps b/c they feel the rules do not apply to them. I have to pop my grocery cart down off or worse up on curbs b/c I can't get to ramps or through hc walkways or on sidewalks. I don't feel like going back into the store to have the manager page the owner of the red motorcycle etc. if i can barely bump a curb.

I would certainly take photos into the gym manager and hand them all the info they need. I'll bet your problem is resolved pronto. The stigma of social embarrassment is a powerful motivator if not the price of parking in hc parking without a permit. If that doesn't do it one call to the local PD and a few tickets will permanently fix the issue. Those tickets are pricey. Don't be afraid to ask-you'll end up making things a lot easier for a lot of people all over town is my bet. I've had several people help me do things because they were aware and cared to stop an do something nice. Most people really do want to do nice things for those less able if only they knew what.

I did tweet one of the pictures (today's offender) to the gym that I've taken of the motorcycles parking in handicap. Only thing is, the gym is a national chain, and it's probably a twitter account for the entire chain. I'm pretty sure that if they're doing it at my gym, they're doing it at all the other franchises of this place.

What I'll probably do (in a few minutes when I get done posting this) is to email or at least find the number of the handicap parking patrol. I really do think that narking on them to the guys who write the $100+ tickets is the way to go. Public humiliation is another one for them, but having them learn a financial lesson is probably a better motivator. I dont think they really need any warnings. The law for handicap parking has been around for awhile, and so has the knowledge of what happens when you screw up and park in a spot when you dont have a placard.

I did mention something to the girls at the front desk the last couple of times that I saw someone parking their bikes in the spot. One of them said that they dont get handicap people there. It's a gym. Handicap people dont use gyms. (I lifted up my cane at that comment and raised an eyebrow to give her the hairy eyeball. Not sure it worked, she was kind of an airhead)

I'm going to go see if the gym I go to has an actual email address that I can send a complaint to and then go look up the email for the handicap parking enforcement. I think it's because I only just started using the placard within the last 6 months that I'm starting to get very...sensitive...when someone is parked in those spots. I was sensitive before, because my mom has been using a placard for years, along with a wheelchair on the bad "my kneecap just exploded" days before she got her replacements.

When I would take her shopping and she used a wheelchair then, and I'd get out to the car to find someone parked an inch from my door and another car parked just barely wheelchair space away from her door. I wasnt always very careful with maneuvering her chair between the cars...at least not on the side of the chair that was next to MY car. People take that chance when they park too close to a handicap spot. They chose to park too close. Not my fault they were a foot over into the wheelchair access area.

I'd definitely bring it up to the management/front desk at the gym. I'd also check into local ordinances. I voluteer at courage center here in my town and NO ONE would park a motorcycle in the access spots. That's just clueless!!

If it were me, I would go in and announce loudly, "who parked the motorcycle in the disabled spot without the sticker?"

I think it would be the last time it happened if they were embarrassed. And I would say it loud enough that they would be. "Oh, YOU are the disabled person, Mr. Muscles???" Can you make it out to your moped all by yourself? Or do you need me to help you carry your weights?

EWiz and ViseeU would get along great. She too would go in and loudly announce WHICH DIRTBAG PARKED THEIR BIKE IN THE HANDICAP SPOT?! COME ON UP! She has had me laughing so hard in public I almost peed my pants.

Brave girl.