District residents testified before a council committee last week that entire blocks, and some neighborhoods, are engulfed by cars exhibiting disability parking placards, while most have out of state tags. Remaining indefinable, especially those from outside the District, is the solution to blocking the fake disability placards. The appeal to drivers only increases as parking spaces are becoming more expensive and scarce. According to the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, not only do the placards offer free parking, but drivers can park for double the posted time in any metered spaces without having to pay the meter. Councilmember Jim Graham, Ward 1, said that giving parking enforcement officers some type of tool to check the placard numbers against a database in Maryland is one solution to the over usage of these disability placards.
