Cleveland workers who need handicapped parking on Superior Avenue near Public Square said they are unfairly being ticketed.
The handicapped parking zone just outside Key Tower has two handicapped parking signs set-up at either end of a 30-foot area, but in the middle of the zone is a fire hydrant.
Some downtown workers like Deitri Villareal, who require handicapped parking, have been issued parking tickets because they were told they were parked too close to the hydrant.
Villareal told newsnet5.com she's aware city law that states motorist have to park at least ten feet from the hydrant, but without any painted lines on the street designating the handicapped spots, it's hard to be sure if a handicapped driver is in compliance.
Villareal said she wasn't even within ten feet of the hydrant, so without parking lines it's a judgment call handicapped motorists shouldn't have to deal with.
"It doesn't make any sense to me that they would have designated parking right by a fire hydrant," said Villareal.
"There happened to be a policeman across the street and I asked him about it, and he just kept saying you're parked by a hydrant. But I kept telling him, this is a handicapped spot."
Mary Swartz also needs handicapped parking and told newsnet5.com she's seen the handicapped being issued at that Superior Avenue location for three years.
"You don't know how far back you are able to go without getting a ticket," said Swartz. "I've seen them give out tickets, like this car pulling up right now."
"They need to fix it some how because there are people far worse off than I am, and they need these parking places."
newsnet5.com contacted Cleveland city hall and the Cleveland Clerk of Courts office in search of a solution.
A spokesman at city hall said the situation would be looked into.
Meanwhile Villareal said so far the city will not remove her $60 ticket.
"She was not sympathetic at all," explained Villareal. "She wanted me to just pay it, and she said you can appeal it, but I'll tell you right now you're not going to win."
