Graduate student Allison Parker thinks Parking and Transit Services is unaccommodating to disabled students because of the high costs and limited availability of disabled parking.
Parker, who suffers from a degenerative bone disease and has one kidney and one lung, has been struggling for years just to get to class.
"I understand what's going on with campus being landlocked and PTS trying to deal with that, but my issue is why disabled parking has to be the most expensive," said Parker, who is also a teaching associate.
All-access disabled parking decals and Structure 1 parking are the most expensive, costing $540 each, according to PTS. The all-access disabled decal allows students to park in disabled spaces in any lot or structure on campus.
Parker said PTS does offer disabled students a "single-lot" decal for the same price as the rest of the lot or structure, but for her and students with similar disabilities, this is not an option.
"I need to get to class as quickly as possible with as little strain as possible," Parker said.
Because she cannot park in one lot and move around campus, Parker said she feels she was forced to buy an all-access decal and hopes she will not have the same problems she has had in the past.
"When I bought a $170 decal three years ago, I wasn't able to use it once because all of the disabled parking spaces would be full," she said.
Theresa Fletcher, assistant director of PTS, said 220 faculty and staff and 132 students have disabled parking permits. There are 341 disabled parking spaces throughout campus.
Parker said she would get a ticket for parking in a non-disabled space, even if all of the disabled spots were full.
Fletcher said that when all disabled spots in a lot are full, students should park in a different lot that has disabled parking spaces available.
"It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Parker said. "It doesn't help me if there's parking in Wells Fargo when I have to be at the Music Building."
When Parker's complaints about limited parking reached ASU President Michael Crow, he said in an e-mail to Parker that a disabled permit would provide her with parking options not offered to "able-bodied" students.
Crow also said, "Ultimately, the cost of parking is determined by ... the costs associated with offering parking and transit services."
Parker said she didn't know what additional costs disabled parking was incurring on PTS, especially because the number of disabled parking spaces has been greatly reduced in the 12 years she has been an ASU student.
Parker said when she raised her complaints with PTS, she was told to buy a Lot 59 decal and take the Flash or take a bus from home.
This isn't an option for Parker because it means additional walking and standing in the heat - circumstances her disability cannot handle, she said.
"My doctors say when it's hot, just don't go outside, but I don't have that option when I'm going to school," she said. "That's why I need to be able to affordably park as close as I can."
In an effort to do so, Parker looked to ASU's Office of Equal Opportunity and found a response similar to that of PTS.
"Individuals without a disabled decal do not have the convenience as disabled decal holders," said Rachel Lopez, assistant director of Equal Opportunity, in an e-mail to Parker. "The advantages [students with all-access disabled decals] have ... are that [they] have the choice of moving around the campus."
Parker said that in her experience she has not had that choice, which means either risking her health or not being able to attend class.
"When I have to walk, I can't get air; it's like an asthma attack," she said. "Sometimes when I walk to class, I have to lean against a wall because I could collapse if I don't rest."
Parker said when she contacts someone at ASU, they use the words "advantage" and "convenience," but she said she doesn't feel she has either.
"I don't want a disabled parking decal for the convenience or because it's my choice; I need it," she said.
Reach the reporter at Meghan.Keck@asu.edu.
