Why Chicago Is Rolling Back Free Parking for the Disabled

Critics of free parking for the disabled typically make three arguments, inciting varying degrees of controversy. The first: Disabled placards are broadly misused by drivers who have no disability at all, spoiling the system (and the public's good will) for people who actually need them. The second: Free unlimited parking incentivizes people to overuse a costly public resource, undermining attempts to manage road congestion through parking pricing. The third: While disabled drivers might need parking access, they don't need free parking, because a physical disability isn't the same as a financial inability to pay.

Cities as a result have to wrestle with all of these competing goals: providing disabled access, curbing fraud, collecting revenue, and managing the public asset of curb space. None of which is easy. Illinois, however, is rolling out a new, much tougher law that tries to balance these interests, and it goes into effect in Chicago today.