Under Tennessee state law, registered drivers with disabilities can park their vehicles at metered parking spaces and publicly owned lots or garages for free.
But, according to Councilman Jim Gotto, many Nashvillians don’t realize the option even exists.
“I’m not sure how many people know that,” Gotto said. “I seriously doubt that our parking lot attendants are telling them.”
In an effort to provide some clarity, the Hermitage council member has sponsored a bill that would require Public Works to post signs or other forms of notification at parking locations operated by Metro, alerting disabled drivers of the free-of-charge policy.
“If it’s the law, people should be informed about it,” Gotto said. “On the parking meters, you would probably need to put a sticker on them ... As far as the lots go, I think you would need to put a sign up.”
The bill had been slated to go before the council on second reading this week, but Gotto told The City Paper he plans to defer the ordinance for two meetings to allow additional time to hammer out details with various stakeholders.
The nine-member Metro Traffic and Parking Commission is expected to discuss Gotto’s bill at its next meeting, which is in May.
Mark Macy, director of engineering for Public Works, said he doesn’t know how much it would cost to install new signs at Metro parking lots, but said he’ll have an estimate prior to next month’s meeting.