Free parking for disabled drivers in downtown Anchorage starts

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Starting Dec. 1, drivers who qualify for a state-issued disability placard or license plate with parking privileges can park for free at any meter in downtown Anchorage.

That comes after the Anchorage Assembly passed an ordinance that allowed for the change Tuesday night. It applies not just to Anchorage residents but anyone who qualifies.

EasyPark Director Jeff Read said people will still need to be issued the credentials from the DMV as they currently do, but parking enforcement officers in downtown Anchorage will honor those and not ticket vehicles.

“If they have a license plate that shows their parking privilege and disability, our enforcement officers are just going to keep walking now,” Read said. “They will still enforce time limits for the amount of time you’re allowed to park on the street, but you won’t be in violation.”

Disabled drivers will also be able to stay longer at regular meters without being ticketed, with the limit moving from two hours to three.

Officers will also honor handicapped placards which are issued by the DMV but Read said that can be problematic because the placards are sometimes difficult to see.

He’s encouraging people to go to the EasyPark website and apply for a digital permit which enforcement officers will be able to pull up on their system.

“The biggest dispute we get with handicapped parkers right now is ‘I forgot to hang my placard or it fell off my dash,’” Read said. “So that’s one of the other reasons we added that benefit of going digital. If they forget it or it falls down, they won’t get a citation.”

Along with free parking for disabled drivers also come heftier fines for people who park illegally in handicapped spaces. Fines for a first violation would increase from $250 to $350. Third and subsequent violations would go up from $500 to $750. The new fines also take effect Dec. 1, 2024.

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