{"id":3333,"date":"2022-11-21T08:57:29","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T16:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/?p=3333"},"modified":"2022-11-21T20:10:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T04:10:03","slug":"parking-reform-aging-and-disability-roundtable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/2022\/11\/21\/parking-reform-aging-and-disability-roundtable\/","title":{"rendered":"Parking reform, aging, and disability roundtable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parkingreform.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-2.24.29-PM.png?resize=633%2C355&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3339\" width=\"633\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parkingreform.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-2.24.29-PM.png?resize=1024%2C575&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parkingreform.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-2.24.29-PM.png?resize=600%2C337&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parkingreform.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-2.24.29-PM.png?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parkingreform.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-2.24.29-PM.png?resize=768%2C431&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parkingreform.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-2.24.29-PM.png?w=1278&amp;ssl=1 1278w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For people who advocate for parking policy reform (or transportation reform more broadly), the question comes up a lot: if you want to take away parking spots, doesn\u2019t that exclude people with disabilities or mobility issues who rely on those spaces?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This topic is complex, but luckily there are people on the case to sift through the discourse. At a recent Parking Reform Network organizing roundtable moderated by PRN founder Tony Jordan, we heard from several people who provided a unique perspective on how parking reform and disability justice can not only coexist, but in fact thrive in tandem with each other to create a less car-dependent world where everyone can get around more freely. They reminded us not to think of any community as a monolith, to leave room for nuance and to make sure to actually include disabled people in the conversation instead of speaking on their behalf.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our four guests at the roundtable were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Cassie Wilson, a climate, transportation and disability justice organizer who lives in a rural area near Portland. Wilson has a mobility-related disability and she uses a wheelchair but is able to drive a wheelchair-accessible vehicle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Corallete Hannon, who works in the AARP\u2019s Department of Government Affairs focusing on housing, transportation, broadband, and energy advocacy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Megan Lynch, the founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AccessUc?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">UC Access Now<\/a>, a coalition of students, staff and faculty throughout the University of California system who work to dismantle ableism in the UC system.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Anna Zivarts, director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.disabilityrightswa.org\/programs\/disabilitymobility\/\">Disability Mobility Initiative<\/a>, a program within Disability Rights Washington. Zivarts is vision-impaired and organizes with other people who can\u2019t drive a car, whether because of a disability or other reasons.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We wanted to share a few primary takeaways from the conversation. These were only some of the topics our panelists covered in this roundtable \u2013 this conversation is vast and ongoing, but it\u2019s important to get the ball rolling. We appreciate their time and insights, and you can watch the recording of the roundtable here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Parking Reform, Aging, and Disability\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U4NpCp-bVQ4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Able-bodied people are commanding the discourse (and they shouldn\u2019t be!)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The panelists pointed out that a lot of the times they hear an uproarious debate about whether or not a certain parking reform effort is equitable for people with different mobility needs, one crucial thing is missing from the conversation \u2014 the perspectives of disabled people themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhenever I see conversations for or against anything in the world of transportation, it\u2019s often a bunch of non-disabled people claiming what is or isn\u2019t ableist on either side,\u201d Cassie Wilson said. \u201cA lot of times disabled people just aren\u2019t brought into conversation.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Megan Lynch said she sees people with strong opinions on either side of the parking reform debate using disabled people as a weapon to try to strengthen their own argument instead of genuinely listening to their points of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCar-centered people leap in and say \u2018We can\u2019t do [parking reform] because disabled people need [a place to park their cars],\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then people on the other side say, \u2018Not everyone can afford a car, and disabled people make less money \u2013 which is often true. But we\u2019re not really talking to actual disabled people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zivarts agreed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere may be a different world that\u2019s possible, but we won\u2019t get there unless we actually bring people with disabilities into leadership and decision making so it\u2019s not an afterthought or completely ignored when we\u2019re planning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nuance, nuance, nuance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s admittedly tricky to encompass the entire range of human experience within a single tweet, which is often how public conversations about parking policy play out. But while we\u2019re talking about asking disabled people to come to the table and share their thoughts and experiences with parking reform, we should also recognize that the disabled community is not a monolith. Everyone has a different experience that informs their opinions on this topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, Hannon, who works primarily with older adults who may struggle with mobility more as they age, said she sees a lot of different takes on the parking reform issue.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think we need to remember not to think everyone who falls into a certain group is going to have the same position on an issue,\u201d Hannon said. \u201cWe really need to look at the nuances and the personal experiences that folks may be bringing to the table, which may color the position that they\u2019re taking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It\u2019s not all or nothing: there\u2019s space for compromise&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lynch brought up an example of how her personal experience doesn\u2019t always correlate perfectly with what she advocates for more broadly in her disability activism. Lynch said she has childhood post-traumatic stress disorder, partially triggered by dogs. But even though she has a negative response to being around dogs, she knows many other disabled people rely on dogs to navigate the world with a disability. She called this discord \u201cconflicting access needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t demand a dog-free space because there are people who need dogs in order to meet their access needs. I have to work it out with them,\u201d Lynch said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If one person (like Zivarts) can\u2019t drive because of their disability and another (like Wilson) often needs to be able to use a car and have an accessible parking space, all hope is not lost. There are many opportunities for conversation and compromise. People with disabilities who have to get around a world designed for able-bodied people have lots of experience with this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilson pointed out that a lot of parking reform policy sounds drastic to people when it\u2019s really not. Just because we make car parking less ubiquitous doesn\u2019t mean there will never be anywhere to park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEliminating parking mandates doesn\u2019t mean that parking won\u2019t be built. I think a lot of people miss that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Broader change is needed&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to create a truly accessible world, we have to work on creating systemic change within our transportation system. If car-dependence was reduced across all levels of society, people with and without disabilities would be less reliant on car parking that is so problematic for city liveability.&nbsp;This means making sure there are other ways for people across the spectrum to get around.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201c<\/strong>If we\u2019re removing parking, we really do need to take a closer look at the alternative options for folks to get to the locations they need to go,\u201d Hannon said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilson takes public transit as often as she can, but because she lives miles outside of Portland proper in an area unserviced by the public transportation system, she needs to drive (and thus, park a car) more than she\u2019d like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zivarts said that even though her organization doesn\u2019t focus on parking reform predominantly, this topic is very relevant to larger work about making cities more liveable for all people using alternate modes of transportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMuch of the work we do is focused around questioning communities that are built around driving,\u201d Zivarts said. \u201cFor those of us who can\u2019t drive, there are a lot of barriers we see that are only able to be addressed through rethinking auto dependence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For people who advocate for parking policy reform (or transportation reform more broadly), the question comes up a lot: if you want to take away parking spots, doesn\u2019t that exclude people with disabilities or mobility issues who rely on those spaces?&nbsp; This topic is complex, but luckily there are people on the case to sift 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Griggs","author_link":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/author\/taylor-griggs\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"For people who advocate for parking policy reform (or transportation reform more broadly), the question comes up a lot: if you want to take away parking spots, doesn\u2019t that exclude people with disabilities or mobility issues who rely on those spaces?&nbsp; This topic is complex, but luckily there are people on the case to sift&hellip;","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3333"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/792"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3333"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3348,"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3333\/revisions\/3348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkingreform.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}